


Remember Your Roots

by HellKaisersAngel



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama & Romance, Eventual violence, F/M, Riverdale, Smut, southside serpents, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:53:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15554127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellKaisersAngel/pseuds/HellKaisersAngel
Summary: It's been sixteen years since Elizabeth Cooper has step foot in the small town of Riverdale. Though she's only planning on staying long enough to sell her now divorced parent's house, something is holding her back and stalling the process and her return to her fiancée in New York. That something is a young biker from her past and king of the Southside Serpents. Riverdale AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first official Bughead/Riverdale fic and I am trying to figure out how to use this site, so forgive me if things are a little rough at first. I'm so use to FanFiction that this is a new learning curve for me, everything is so different lol But, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! Thank you!

“Michael? Everything okay?” the young blonde asked as she fumbled to answer the incoming call from her fiancee on her car’s Bluetooth.

“I was just seeing if you made it yet was all.” he asked and she smiled as the old, faded welcome sign drew near.

**Welcome to Riverdale! The town with PEP!**

It needed an update, bad. The image was fading, the words could barely be made out. If it wasn’t for the fact she had dreamed of that sign, of the town itself, for the past sixteen years she wouldn’t have been able to make it out. Maybe she’d bring it to the attention of Mayor McCoy when she stopped by her office.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m getting ready to cross Sweetwater River now, I’ll call you when I get settled in the house.”

“Sounds good. Be careful, come home soon.”

“I will.”

“Goodbye, Elizabeth.” With that the call ended and she rolled her eyes, rolling her windows down and reaching up to pull the elastic band out of her signature picture perfect ponytail. Golden waves fell loose from their restraint just as the wind came rushing into the Toyota 4Runner, whipping them around and a smile stretching across her face. The low roar of the rushing river was old, familiar music to her ears as she crossed the bridge into Eversgreen Forest.

“Hello, hello.” She muttered to herself as she found herself quickly driving into the heart of Riverdale. It looked the same as she remembered; beautiful, small town feel with just a hint of a more modern city with the addition of some newer high end apartment buildings. She slowed as she scanned the local shops and restaurants, creating a mental checklist of places she really wanted to check out during her stay. She smiled as she studied the smiling faces of the townspeople and the beautiful and bright flowers in all of the planters that lined the freshly swept sidewalks. She spotted a few familiar faces along the way and hoped they would remember her too. Maybe tomorrow morning she would get up early and travel into town to do a little light shopping and stop at her favorite bakery, Sweetwater Treats.

She continued on through downtown Riverdale until it was in her rear view mirror, her childhood street ahead of her. She felt the butterflies in her belly slowly turning to knots as she turned onto the road, the bright white two story coming into view. She slowed down, eventually coming to a stop in the front parking spot of the house. The perfectly painted house, the perfectly manicured lawn, the perfectly landscaped flowerbeds.

She hated it.

And yet, she couldn’t wait to see the inside. Did it look the same? How much had her mother changed it while she was gone? Especially after her parent’s divorce. Her father had caved and left her mother the house, and now here she was trying to sell it for her because her mother refused to step foot in it. After heaving a defeated sigh she stepped out of the black SUV, grabbing her suitcase from the trunk and making her way to the cherry red front door.

“Alright.” she muttered to herself, pulling out her phone and opening her saved text message from her mom.

**Spare key is in an old pill bottle buried in the**

**planter on the left side of the porch.**

**Thank you, Elizabeth.**

**I love you.**

She set her suitcase and purse down, stepping over to the pristine terracotta planter and digging around in the dirt, frowning when she came up empty handed. Thinking her mother had told her wrong she moved to the twin planter on the opposite side and yet again came up empty handed. Grimacing at the wet, sticky dirt caked on her hands and embedded under her fingernails she brushed it off as best as she could and fished her phone back out of her pocket.

“Come on, mom, answer.” she whispered as she looked around at the neighborhood, rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes, “Or not.” At the sound of her mother’s voicemail, which was unsurprisingly full, she shoved her phone back into her pocket and made her way to the garage. When testing the garage doors failed she moved to try the windows. Locked. Locked. Locked.

“Dammit. I really didn’t want to have to wait on a locksmith.” she huffed and rattled the front door.

Once again, locked.

“Dammit!” she shouted and hurried off the porch, moving to test the rest of the windows on the bottom floor, “Come on, give me a break!”

“The owners haven’t lived there in a while, is there something you need?” She whirled around at the sound of the voice to find it’s owner and recognition hit them at the same time.

“Betty?!”

“Archie!”

They both had said in unison, Archie jumping the short hedge that ran the property line and rushing to scoop the blonde into a tight bear hug.

“I can’t believe you’re back! Why are you back? I thought I was never going to see you again! I missed you Betty!” he started firing off, holding the smiling blonde at arms length and trying to restrain himself from shaking her in excitement.

“I’m here to sell the house, Arch, except I can’t even get into it. The spare is missing.”

“Oh, that’s my fault, there was a freeze just before spring and a pipe busted. Your mom was leaving that day for a business trip so I offered to be there while the plumber worked. I kept forgetting to put it back. Here, let’s go get it and you can say hi to dad.”

“Let me just grab my purse off the porch.” she said and hurried to the front door, tucking her suitcase behind a bush and grabbing the designer bag and pulling it up onto her shoulder. She followed Archie over to his house, where he called for his dad as soon as they stepped through the front door. Betty smiled as she looked around. The Andrews house stood frozen in time, just as she remembered it from her adolescent years.

“Well I’ll be. Is that Betty Cooper standing at my front door?” Fred said as he stepped from the kitchen, drying his hands off on an old tattered towel.

“Hi, stranger.” she said with a grin, Fred stepping forward and pulling her into an equally as tight hug.

“Come in, I just made a pot of fresh coffee and Archie picked up some donuts this morning from Sweetwater Treats.”

“You two are such blessings. It’s been a long drive and I will gladly take you up on that offer.” she answered as she felt her mouth salivate and her stomach growl at the thought of one of those donuts.

Archie led her to the kitchen, his excitement reminding her of an excited school boy and she smiled. He was the same as she remembered. Fred was already pouring three mugs of coffee and had pulled out the creamer, the three of them settling down onto bar stools around the kitchen island.

“Betty, where have you been? How have you been?” Fred asked as Archie opened the box of donuts, offering one to her first which she gladly accepted.

“Well, since mom and dad started traveling for all of their reporting and journalism, it got really hard to find a relative to stay with us so Polly and I could continue going to school.” she started before taking a bite out of the fresh baked treat, her eyes nearly rolling back in her head at the taste of the sweet, sticky maple glaze.

“You went to live with a relative, right?” Fred asked and Betty nodded, Archie handing her a napkin so she could wipe her mouth. She washed the bite down with coffee, clearing her throat and continuing.

“It was supposed to be temporary. Mom and dad were going to try and stay home, but they loved traveling so much that Polly and I were quickly enrolled into a very prestige private school near my grandparent’s house. We were doing so well there, and they knew it would look amazing on college applications, that we stayed and they continued to travel, sold The Riverdale Register, and began working for major publications until they ran their marriage into the ground.”

“Holy crap, that’s one heck of a rock.” Archie said in amazement, Betty following his gaze to the large diamond ring on her dainty finger, “Is that an engagement ring?”

“That it is. His name’s Michael Weston, I met him in college.”

“Well, where is he?”

“Working, he couldn’t afford to take time off. He’s taking his father’s place as head of his real estate company back in New York and needed to be there. So, I’m here by myself until I get the house sold.” Archie heard a bit of sadness in her voice and looked over, watching her face fall a little before taking another sip of her coffee.

“What’s your job? Can you work from home while you’re gone?” he asked and she smiled as she nodded.

“I’m a professional photographer. I do a bunch of high profile weddings back home. I’ve done some travel photography, family portraits, professional head shots for businesses, aspiring actors, advertisements. A little bit of everything.”

“That’s amazing, Betty. You must be really good.”

“Well, I’m not one to toot my own horn, but, toot toot!” she teased with a laugh, Archie and Fred joining her before they each grabbed another donut.

“Oh man, you gotta meet my girlfriend, Veronica. How about we go to Pop’s tonight? My treat!” he offered and Betty’s eyes lit up.

“I think I could literally kill for one of Pop Tate’s bacon burgers and strawberry milkshakes. That sounds like an amazing plan and I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Great! Let’s get you into the house and then I’ll call Veronica after I help you get your bags in.”

* * *

 

“Just as I remembered it. Nothing’s changed here.” Betty said as they pulled into the parking lot of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, the neon lights bathing them in a welcoming glow in the evening light. She was happy though. She and Archie spent a lot of time with their families in Pop’s, and she was happy that it appeared to be the same as she remembered. Archie hopped out, hurrying over to her side and opening her door before she got a chance to and leading her up the concrete steps.

When they stepped in Betty nearly cried from happiness as all her memories came rushing back. They were welcomed with the bright neon 50’s theme, the old jukebox playing an old Johnny Cash song.

“Hey Archie!” a man called from behind the counter and Betty felt her smile grow wider. Pop Tate had obviously aged in the sixteen years she had been gone, but he was a face she would never forget. The man used to spoil her and Polly rotten whenever they would come eat as children, would dance with them when the Jukebox played if the diner wasn’t busy, and they never left without a hug from him.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is that little Betty Cooper all grown up?” He asked as he hurried out from behind the counter, Betty being the first to initiate a hug this time.

“How are you doing Pop? I’ve missed you and this place so much.”

“Betty, I was worried you’d forgotten all about us back here in Riverdale.”

“I could never forget you, Pop.” she said as she hugged the man who was like another grandfather to her again.

“Archie, Veronica came in just a few minutes ago, she’s down by the pinball machine. You go sit down, I’ll be over in a minute with your shakes. Betty?”

“Yes?”

“Strawberry?”

“You remembered.” she said and felt the little tug at her heart.

“I never forget my favorite customers.” he said and Archie nudged her elbow, leading her to the opposite end of the diner.

“Ronnie!” At the sound of her name a raven haired young woman turned in the booth to look back, smiling as her eyes landed on Archie and Betty.

“Archiekins, is this your bestie?” she asked as she stood up from the booth, bypassing Archie and stopping in front of Betty, “I have heard so much about you over the years, but I thought I was never going to meet you. It’s so good to finally get the chance! Archie was so excited on the phone!” Veronica said before surprising Betty and giving her a quick hug, “Come come, sit down!”

“Oh, Betty, do you remember Jughead?” Betty turned her attention to the handsome young man sitting at the booth, his nearly black hair peeking out from underneath a gray knitted cap. Her green eyes met his and he sat up straighter in the booth, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Jughead Jones.” she said softly and raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing across her lips.

“Betty Cooper, as I live and breathe.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, Betty, you’re a photographer? Care to share some of your favorite pictures?” Veronica asked as she rested her elbows on the table, threading her fingers together and laying her chin on her hands. Betty, feeling the blush spread on her cheeks as all three pairs of eyes were on her now, nodded and fumbled her phone out of her pocket to pull up her business Instagram page.

 

“Well, I haven’t been able to really pick a favorite yet, here’s a collection I had in an art gallery back home.” Betty answered as she handed her phone over to the raven haired princess, Archie leaning in close to her to look through the pictures as well.

 

“So what brings you back to Riverdale after all these years? I barely recognized you when you walked in. You’ve changed a lot.”

 

“I sure hope so, Jug, I was ten then.” Betty answered with a smirk and Jughead gave her a crooked grin, reaching over and stealing a fry off her plate, “Hey now, you already ate all of yours.”

 

“Jughead is and has always been a bottomless pit.” Archie said before Jughead could defend himself, the fry thief shrugging at Betty who only smiled and rolled her eyes, “Anyways, I’m back to sell my parent’s house. Well, it’s my mom’s now since the divorce, but she refuses to come back so it’s on me.”

 

“What about Polly? She couldn’t do it?” Jug asked and reached over to take the cherry off of her milkshake, amused at her glare as he popped it into his mouth.

 

“Really? Now you take my cherry?”

 

“I can if you want me to.” Jughead said and held his arms up in defense as she swatted him, Archie and Veronica biting back their laughter and trying to keep their attention on Betty’s phone, “You walked right into that, I could not pass that opportunity up.”

 

“Jughead Jones, you are still such a pain.” Betty huffed, moving her milkshake farther away from him. Jughead smiled and winked, seeing the blush creep across her face. He stretched his arm across the back of the booth, turning his body to tuck more into the corner of the booth and window so he could see her better.

 

“Oh, excuse me, I have to take this.” Veronica said as she laid Betty’s phone down and picked up her own, sliding out of the booth and walking towards and empty section of the diner.

 

“Those are really good pictures, Betty. Just to warn you, Veronica was really amazed by them and suggested scheduling you for a photo shoot while you’re in town.” Archie said as he slid her phone across the table back to her, Jughead letting out a snort and crossing his arms over his stomach.

 

“I guess she doesn’t have enough pictures of herself for her selfie shrine.” Jughead said and slid his beanie off, running his fingers through his hair before putting it back on, Betty resting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in her hand. Jughead looked over at her and it was his turn to feel his blush creeping up as she stared at him with a big grin, “What?”

 

“That can’t possibly be the same hat you wore when we were kids, can it?”

 

“It most certainly is.” he said and she laughed softly in amazement, shaking her head and picking up her milkshake, “How is it not full of holes or shredded?”

 

“Hey, Archiekins, do you mind taking me to the Pembrooke?” Veronica asked as she hurried back over to the table, stiletto heels clicking loudly against the tile floor. She grabbed her purse up, rifling through her wallet and grabbing a hundred dollar bill.

 

“Uh, yeah Ronnie, that’s fine. Everything okay?”

 

“My mother is freaking out about something. Betty, dear, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we can get together while you’re here for some girl time, I went ahead and left my number in your phone. Jughead?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Please don’t run her off. I really need a female friend.”

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Veronica. She was my friend first.”

 

“Jug, can you make sure Betty gets home okay?” Archie asked and grabbed his keys as Veronica laid her money on the table, Jughead nodding and saluting Archie with two fingers.

 

“Dinner’s on me. Just keep the change.” Veronica said before they hurried out of the diner, Jughead and Betty watching them hurry across the parking lot to Archie’s truck.

 

“I hope everything’s okay with her mom.” Betty said and saw Jughead roll his eyes in response, “What?”

 

“Her American Excess card was probably canceled. That, or The Matchelorette and now she doesn’t know what to do with herself.”

 

“You’re not too fond of Veronica, are you?”

 

“She gets on my nerves and we butt heads a lot, but she makes Archie really happy so I tolerate her.” Jughead answered as the bell over the door jingled and Jughead watched as a group of nearly a dozen leather clad bikers started spilling into the diner, “Don’t freak out, okay?”

 

“Freak out about what?” Betty asked as she watched the group of men looked around the diner, one of them catching sight of their booth and getting the attention of the others. Betty swallowed hard as they all turned their attention to them and started walking towards them, Jughead sitting up straighter in the booth and Betty feeling herself start to inch closer to him.

 

“Hey! Way to leave me behind out there, Fangs!” A pink and brunette haired girl called as she came in after them, sporting the same black leather jacket. The one she assumed was named ‘Fangs’ turned around at the sound of his name and Betty saw a bright green snake on the back of his jacket that had a head at each end, the words South Side Serpents surrounding the dual headed snake. Betty felt the color run from her face as her mother’s voice filled her head.

 

“ _Can you believe it, Hal? FP Jones moved his family into Sunnyside Trailer Park where all those Southside Serpents live. I do NOT want our daughter around those drug running thugs! She’s no longer allowed to go to Jughead’s house, there’s no telling what she’ll be exposed to!” Alice shrieked from the kitchen, a ten year old Betty sitting on the top step of the staircase as she listened to her mother rant._

 

“ _Alice, I’m sure FP knows better than to have the kids around any Serpents, and especially if Archie and Betty are with Jughead.” her father tried to reason with her, Alice letting out a laugh of disbelief and Betty heard her coffee mug slam on the counter._

 

“ _Don’t be stupid, Hal. Ever since Gladys took Forsythia and left FP has done nothing but screw up. He’s probably passed out drunk while the kids do God knows what. I’ll be damned if my daughter gets kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking by a bunch of gang banging biker thugs!”_

 

“What are you doing here, we thought you were gonna be at the Wyrm tonight.” one of the men said to Jughead as they all stopped at the booth, Betty looking up at each of them to realize the one speaking was the only one not staring at her.

 

“I’ll be by later, an old friend came into town.” he said and jerked his head towards Betty who was studying each one carefully, “Betty?” She jumped slightly and turned to look at Jughead, the man biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

“Betty, huh? Say you’re pretty cute. How’d you get a cute girl like this to be your friend, Jones?” a dark haired man asked as he leaned against the table, his eyes never leaving Betty, who instinctively sat back against the booth seat to distance herself.

 

“Back off, Sweet Pea. I’ll see you guys in a bit, I’m gonna walk Betty home.”

 

“Just take her on your bike.” Sweet Pea said as the majority of the group moved to the counter to start placing orders with Pop.

 

“I don’t have my helmet with me for her to use.”

 

“I’ll take her off your hands for ya.” Sweet Pea answered with a smirk and looked back over at Betty who raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her.

 

“Sweet Pea -.”

 

“Not in your wildest, wettest dreams, _Sweet Pea._ ” Betty said with a one sided smirk, cutting off Jughead who was staring at her with an open mouthed grin, the pink haired girl laughing and slapping Sweet Pea on his back.

 

“Shot down! I’m gonna petition your name to be changed to Horndog. I’m Toni, by the way. Tell Jones here to bring you by the Whyte Wyrm some time. I have a feeling you’ll fit in fine there. Come on, loser, let’s get some food.”

 

“See ya later, boss.” Sweet Pea said and followed the rest of his group over to the counter.

 

“Boss?”

 

“Maybe I should pay and walk you home now. I can explain on the way.”

 

* * *

 

 

“A Serpent, Jughead? You’re a _Serpent_?” Betty asked as they walked slowly towards Elm Street where Betty’s house sat.

 

“You don’t have to sound so disgusted when you say it. And yeah, I’m a Serpent, sorta.”

 

“Sorta?”

 

“I’m the leader.”

 

“You’re a gang leader?!” she asked as she stopped in her tracks, Jughead turning to look at her as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

 

“Betty, it’s fine, honest. I’m not gonna hurt you if that’s what you’re worried about.” he said and she started walking again, Jughead moving to walk next to her.

 

“How long have you been a gang leader?” she asked and Jughead reached into his back pocket, fishing out a cigarette and lighter.

 

“About ten years now.” he answered before lighting his cigarette, taking a long, soothing drag from it and looking over at Betty who snorted in laughter, “What?”

 

“Ten years? Who the hell becomes a gang leader at sixteen? What did your dad say?”

 

“I’m retiring from the serpents for real this time, and went on a speech about how I never gave up on the Serpents before officially handing me the title of Serpent King.” Jughead said and Betty stopped again, “Why do you keep doing that? It’s making it very hard to keep my promise to Archie to walk you home if you just won’t walk.”

 

“You’re dad was a gang leader? And just, handed it to you? At _sixteen_?!”

 

“Betts, you’re Alice Cooper’s daughter.”

 

“What the hell does that have to do with our conversation right now?” she asked and placed her hands on her hips.

 

“It means, you’ve probably heard all of these horror stories about the Southside, and especially the Serpents, so you’re freaking out right now. I can guarantee you that almost everything your mother has ever said about us, has ever printed up in her precious paper, is garbage and bullshit.” he said, this time Betty seeing a flash of irritation on his face before he turned and kept walking in the direction of her home.

 

“So, you’re not sex trafficking, drug running thugs?” Betty asked as she caught up to Jughead. He placed his cigarette to his mouth as he side eyed her, his brow furrowed in aggravation.

 

“No, Betty, we’re not. Serpents don’t deal with more than dime bags of weed.” he answered. His voice was more serious now and Betty frowned, reaching up and touching his arm gently as she stopped walking, “Really, Cooper, I’m never going to get you home at this rate. I have a bar I have to go run tonight.”

 

She recoiled her hand when he snapped at her and shoved them into her pockets.

 

“Jug, I’m sorry. I don’t honestly think of you like that.” she apologized and Jughead took another drag off of his cigarette before tossing it to the sidewalk and crushing it with his black combat boot.

 

“You sure about that? You’ve only been freaking out this whole walk home.” He exhaled the smoke, Betty watching it reach towards the sky in curled tendrils before disappearing. She took a step closer to him and Jughead fought the urge to step back, looking down at her large green eyes.

 

“I really am sorry, Jug. I don’t think that of you. I’ve only ever heard bad things about the Serpents, but if you’re anywhere close to being the same, sweet kid I played with, you wouldn’t have joined if they were truly bad people.” she said as she removed her hands from her pockets and held her arms out.

 

“What are doing?”

 

“I’m apologizing, Jughead, just go with it.” she said and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin. Jughead rolled his eyes but found himself smiling as he returned the hug, patting her on her back before catching a whiff of her shampoo, or perfume, he wasn’t sure. It was a whiff of something fruity and tropical with a mix of floral and he found it surprisingly pleasant. The moment was interrupted by a loud rendition of The Chordettes ‘Lollipop’.

 

“Oh shoot!” Betty hissed, stepping back and quickly retrieving her phone from her pocket, “Hi, Michael!”

 

Jughead raised an eyebrow and leaned back against one of the many trees lining the street, crossing his arms over his chest and watching Betty. Her demeanor changed from happy and sweet to almost panicked and apologetic as she conversed on the phone with whoever this Michael was.

 

“No, Michael, I’m sorry. I saw some old friends as soon as I got into town and they took me out to dinner. No, I wasn’t going to forget to call you. Michael, please stop. I am sorry. Yes, I’ll send you a text when I get home, I’m almost there.”

 

Whoever this Michael was, Jughead decided, he didn’t like him. He didn’t like the way Betty was tripping over herself in almost panic trying to rectify whatever mistake he was claiming she made. She huffed and hung up the phone, sliding it into her pocket and looking over at him with a sheepish grin.

 

“Sorry, that was uh, that was my fiancee.” she said quietly and cleared her throat and Jughead had to force himself to keep from scowling.

 

“Sounds more like a parent than a fiancee.” he said and pushed off of the tree, “Alright, Cooper, let’s get you home.”

 

They chatted the rest of the way to her house, Jughead trying to keep the small talk up to distract her from that phone call from her fiancee. They stopped at the bottom of the steps that led to the walkway to her front door, Betty turning to face Jughead and smiling softly at him.

 

“Well, Jughead, I’m really glad we got a chance to catch up.”

 

“You say that like you don’t plan on seeing me anymore.” he teased and fished another cigarette out of his pocket.

 

“That’s not what I meant!” she exclaimed, placing her hands on his arm and he smiled, “I’d love to see you guys as much as I can while I’m here, as long as you want to hang out.”

 

“How about, if you’re free sometime, I’ll introduce you to my friends at the Whyte Wyrm, and you can see for yourself what kind of people the Serpents are.”

 

Betty bit the inside of her cheek, her mother’s words rushing through her head again.

 

 _Don’t you dare, young lady!_ She could hear her mother demand in the back of her mind.

 

“I think that would be really fun, as long as Sweet Pea behaves.” Betty answered and Jughead laughed softly, reaching out with one hand and giving her shoulder a quick pat.

 

“I’ll see you later, Bets. Get some sleep.” he said before she smiled and took off up the steps, Jughead waiting until she made it into her house before making his way back to Pop’s to retrieve his motorcycle.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Betty sighed as she sat cross legged on the overstuffed sofa in the living room, looking around at the room that held memories of her early childhood. She remembered movie nights curled up on one of the two sofas with popcorn and candy, her parents sitting on either side of her and Polly and stretching a huge blanket across all four of their laps. She remembered Christmas mornings when she and Polly would come flying down the stairs and slide to a halt in front of a roaring fire in the brick fireplace, their eyes almost as wide as their heads when they saw the presents Santa had left them. She remembered Polly and herself dressed in their leotards and tutus practicing for a dance recital. Soon, the house would belong to a new family to make those kinds of memories, but it still hurt to have to say goodbye.

 

She looked back down at the pad of paper in her lap and began doing a rough layout of the room so she could start figuring out how she wanted to stage the room for the Realtor's pictures. She wanted to figure out the best presentation of the house so she could sell it fast and get back to New York before Michael started getting agitated. She glanced over at her phone and sighed heavily. No good morning text from Michael, again, like every morning and she had already been in Riverdale nearly a week at this point. She had kept herself busy by deep cleaning the house, rearranging the upstairs furniture and cleaning out clutter. She had almost completely finished photographing the upstairs and uploading the pictures into a file to send to the Realtor. Now, it was time to try and move the heavy furniture downstairs to make the rooms look as large as possible, and open and family friendly instead of sad and closed off as her parent’s had left it. Betty almost thought it was a representation of the end of their marriage. She finally caved and picked up her phone, dialing Michael’s number and placing the phone to her ear. He picked up after the second ring.

 

“Elizabeth.” His greeted, his voice echoing irritation as she heard him typing away on his computer in the background.

 

“Hey, sweetie, how are you doing?” She asked as she cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder, looking around at the cramped room.

 

“I was fine until I was interrupted.” He answered, his deep voice cold and very business like, as usual.

 

“I’m...I’m sorry, I just wanted to hear your voice.” she answered as she chewed the inside of her cheek, blinking back the hurt tears that were beginning to pool.

 

“I’m just really busy with transitioning to my father’s position and dealing with everything back at the apartment. When are you coming home?”

 

“As soon as this place sells. I’ve almost finished getting all of the pictures to send to the Realtor so they can post it for sale.”

 

“Honestly, Elizabeth, I don’t see why it takes so long to snap a few silly pictures. You do this all the time, you should be faster by now.” he sighed, Betty this time feeling her temper flare and biting the back of her knuckles to keep herself from blowing up, “Also, speaking of silly pictures, Cordelia called freaking out because you’re in that little hillbilly town. She wants to know if you’ll be back in time for the wedding next month since you promised to be the photographer.”

 

“I’ll be there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few silly pictures to take.” she snapped and pressed the call button, tossing her phone next to her on the sofa and letting out a frustrated sigh, “He’s just stressed.” she whispered to herself, picking her phone back up when it dinged.

 

_**I don’t appreciate being spoken to like that.** _

_**Please refrain from behaving that way again.** _

_**We shall speak later tonight.** _

_**-MW** _

 

“The hell we will.” she growled and ignored the message, looking around at the room again. She decided one of the overstuffed sofas and one of the large bookshelves had to go to open the space up. Along with it the large coffee table that ate up most of the available floor space. She remembered seeing a smaller on in the attic that was still in decent condition. She stood, tossing the paper and pencil onto the coffee table and moving to push the couch towards the foyer. Well, attempted to. She found it awful heavy and she could barely get it to budge an inch.

 

“How the hell am I supposed to do this?” she huffed, figuring she could hire some movers to come in and take the excess furniture away. Her phone began ringing and figuring it was Michael calling to complain about Betty ignoring his text, she picked it up with a scowl until she looked at the caller ID.

 

“Veronica?” she asked after placing the phone to her ear.

 

“Hi, Betty! I was worried you weren’t going to answer since none of us have seen you since Pop’s a couple nights ago.

 

“Sorry, Veronica, I’ve been trying to get the house cleaned up so I can sell it faster.” Betty answered and leaned against the armrest of the couch.

 

“Well how about you take a break and come shopping with me. I promise it will end in hers and hers mani/pedis!” Betty smiled at the excitement in Veronica’s voice, the blonde looking around at the room at everything she had to get done. But then her conversation with Michael resurfaced and she shrugged, walking towards the stairs to go find an outfit.

 

“What the hell, where do you want to meet?”

 

“Perfect! I’ll have Smithers swing by and pick you up, say in about an hour?”

 

“Sounds perfect, I’ll see you then.” With that Betty hurried up the stairs and into the bathroom where she was quick to shower, dry her hair and do a quick touch up shave on her legs and underarms. She was a whirlwind as she moved to her room to style her hair in loose waves to frame her face, dabbing on some light makeup and opening her closet to pick an outfit. She settled on one of her favorite casual rompers, a black off the shoulder with a small fringe around the edges on top and bottom. She grabbed a wide, decorative gold belt and slid it on around her waist after she stepped into the romper, grabbing a pair of strappy black high heels and her favorite matching purse.

 

She was sliding in a pair of dangling gold earrings as the doorbell rang indicating her hour was up and Veronica had arrived. She snatched the matching necklace off of her dresser, sliding it around her neck as she descended the stairs and hurried towards the front door.

 

“Whoa! Betty Bombshell!” Veronica said with a huge grin, lowering her sunglasses down her small nose as she eyed Betty’s outfit of choice, “You have got to let me borrow that outfit sometime, that is to die for!”

 

“Thank you, Veronica, you look great too.” Betty said with a smile and a small blush, Veronica’s grin growing wider as she curtsied in her short white sundress, adjusting the halter neck on it before holding out her arm. Betty grabbed her oversized sunglasses off of the mail table and locked the door, her arm linking with Veronica’s as they made their way towards the sleek black limo idling in the road.

 

“Miss Lodge, Miss Cooper.” Smithers greeted as he opened the door for them, the two young women thanking him as they slid in.

 

“So, let me take you to a couple of my favorite boutiques, one of them being some of the best, and sexiest lingerie I have ever come across. This stuff rivals some of the high end products I have bought and tried. I need to find something to spice up mine and Archie’s anniversary night next week.”

 

“Aw, how long have you two been together?” Betty asked and Veronica smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as a smile crept across her porcelain cheeks.

 

“Since we were seventeen. Oh B, I’m hoping he finally pops the question! I’ve been waiting on it since we graduated college!” She reminded Betty of a young teenager in love and the blonde couldn’t help but giggle as she placed her hands over her heart.

 

“You guys are so sweet, I’m so glad Archie has found himself someone who makes him so happy.” The girls chatted all the way into town about men, lingerie, their favorite places to shop and dine in New York, their favorite vacation getaways. Veronica revealed that she had just recently purchased her first beach front condo on Sanibel Island in Florida, suggesting Betty invite Michael and the two of them take a vacation with her and Archie when the tourist season died down. Betty thanked her but informed her it would have to wait since Michael was too busy with his father’s business to take a vacation.

 

“Alright, I hate waiting, but we’ll make it happen somehow, B.” Veronica said as Smithers pulled to a stop in front of the lingerie store, Betty following Veronica out and waiting as she waved Smithers off, “Well, let’s see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves in to.”

 

* * *

 

“Betty why don’t you find yourself something sexy to model for Michael when you get back to New York.” Veronica questioned from the dressing room where she was getting fitted for a corset, Betty roaming the aisles of lace, silk, and satin slowly as she waited patiently.

 

“ _Are you trying to look like a whore?”_ She heard Michael’s voice ask at her failed attempt to seduce him with a whole red lace lingerie set. 

 

“I don’t think he’ll like it.” Betty answered and heard Veronica scoff. 

 

“What red blooded, straight man would pass up a smoke show like you in this stuff?” She asked in disbelief and Betty frowned as she ran the lace to a black bra between her fingers. It had been about a week after her engagement and to ‘spice things up’ and bring something new to the bedroom, Betty had bought a red lace and black ribbon set of lingerie thinking Michael would appreciate it. Instead, she sat in the bathroom crying of humiliation as she ripped it off of her body, feeling stupid for not asking what he preferred and just assuming. 

 

“He just isn’t like most men.” Betty answered and stopped as she spotted a set being displayed on a mannequin that caught her eye. The mannequin wore a black satin underbust corset, her breasts covered (barely) by a sheer black lace and her bottom donning a matching set of black lace cheeky panties. A lace garter holder held up black sheer stockings, the lace trim stopping mid thigh. 

 

“Oh wow.” Betty breathed, imaging herself wearing such an incredibly sexy set of lingerie. If only Michael would approve. Sometimes though she found herself wishing she could sport that kind of wear for someone who would appreciate the effort she put into being sexy and pleasing them visually. Someone other than Michael. She loved him, and respected his wishes, but dammit maybe sometimes she wanted to ‘look like a cheap whore’ and take their bedroom play to new heights. She turned away from the mannequin with a defeated sigh, reminding herself that she would just have to give up some of her fantasies and honor the wishes of her future husband. 

 

“Alright, this is perfect!” Veronica announced and flung the dressing room door open, “What do you think, B?” She posed in the doorway of the dressing room, a dark purple corset with a black lace overlay hugging her small frame. She did a full circle, showing off the black lace stockings and the low cut purple satin panties that barely sat on her hips. 

 

“You are going to blow Archie’s mind.” Betty said in amazement, Veronica flipping her hair over her shoulder and placing her hands on her hips. 

 

“That won’t be the only thing either.” She added with a wink before disappearing back into the dressing room. She changed and purchased her lingerie set, along with an expensive bottle of massage oil as Betty looked longingly one more time at the mannequin before heading for the front door. 

 

“Alright, mani/pedi time?” Veronica asked as she flung the door open and the girls stepped out, Betty colliding with a solid figure. 

 

* * *

 

 

Jughead glanced up as he walked through downtown Riverdale, ignoring the points and stares directed at his leather Serpent Jacket as he made his way to meet Archie at the police department. He pulled his phone out and opened his messaging app, finding Archie’s name to send him a quick text. 

 

_**Running behind, couldn’t find decent parking** _

 

He shoved his phone back in his pocket, looking over his shoulder when he spotted a familiar group of people watching him from across the street. He went to look back in front of him but found himself too late as he collided with another human being.

 

“Oh, shit, are you okay?” he asked quickly as he reached up and grabbed the woman’s shoulders to steady them before he finally got a good look at her, “Betty?”

 

“Jug I’m so sorry! I was looking at Veronica and I wasn’t paying attention!” She asked as her hands came up to grip his harms, steadying herself on her own two feet.

 

“I’m fine, I’m more worried about you breaking an ankle walking on those ice picks.” he said as he glanced down at her high heels. He swallowed hard as he found his gaze traveling up a pair of long, slender, tan legs and admired the tiny little summer outfit that barely ended past her rear end and hung off her sun-kissed shoulders.

 

“Nice onesie.” he teased and Veronica scowled as she propped her hands on her hips.

 

“It’s a romper, Jughead Jones. Not that you would know much about fashion.” Veronica argued as she looked him up and down.

 

“Consider it Hobo chic.” Jughead replied as he looked down at his faded blue jeans and old red and white flannel shirt tied around his waist.

 

“You are impossible. Plus, don’t make fun of her, she looks like a total knockout.”

 

“Yeah, well, if our collision would have been harder it would have for sure been a knockout. Are you sure you’re okay, Betts?”

 

“I’m fine, Jug, thank you.” she said and he slowly let go of her waist, “Oh, Juggy, I have a question, well, more like a favor I need to ask you.”

 

“Well, while you two converse, Betty I’m going to run in here and grab a coffee. Would you like anything?” Veronica offered and Betty shook her head before her friend walked off.

 

“What’s up?” Jughead asked as he finally forced himself to take a step back, glancing back over his shoulder at the group of four guys leaning against a red 1940’s Ford Tudor Street Rod. The leader of the small group was no stranger, Jughead knew, and he prized that car more than his own life.

 

“Well, I have some really heavy furniture I need taken out of the house, is there any way I can pay you and possibly Archie if he’ll agree, to haul it out and take it away for me?”

 

“You don’t have to pay me, Betts.” he said and she shook her head in disagreement, “Okay, maybe not pay me in cash. Do a favor for me in return.”

 

“What would that be.”

 

“Are you busy tonight?”

 

“I’m not entirely sure, I don’t think I have any plans.” _Except apologizing to your fiancee profusely and trying to fix whatever mistake you didn’t make._

 

“I’ll be at your house at eight sharp.”

 

“Jughead, what are you talking about?” she asked and he smiled, taking a step towards her and shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

 

“You, Betty Cooper, are going to meet my friends and my extended family at my place of business tonight.

 

_Michael was just going to have to wait._

 

“I’ll see you at eight sharp. Thanks, Juggy.” she said and he gave her a quick wink.

 

“Not a problem, Betts.” he said and waved to Veronica, who emerged from the coffee shop with two cups in hand, before continuing his walk towards the police station. He made it a ways up the sidewalk before stopping and looking over his shoulder back at the two young women. They were still in the spot he left him, Betty accepting a coffee from Veronica before she looked his way. His smile was returned by her and she quickly looked away, Jughead turning to walk just as Veronica followed Betty’s previous gaze to him and raised an eyebrow.

 

“Oh this girl is going to be trouble.” he muttered to himself before looking back across the street. Speaking of trouble. The group of four guys had all piled into the car, the driver, Malachi, watching Jughead’s every step as he made his way uptown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of those who have taken the time to read/review/favorite/subscribe. You all are amazing and your support means to much to me. Let me know what you all think. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, totally did not realize the name I was using for Betty’s fiancee is the name of an actor, so I apologize for any confusion! I do not plan to use any actual people in my work, so no, her fiancee is not based after a celebrity! Thank you to my lovely readers who caught that for me. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read, and if you don’t mind to leave a review or comment, it would mean the world. Thank you!

“B? Everything okay?” Veronica asked on the other end of the phone, Betty standing in nothing but a pair of white satin bikini cut panties in front of her closet.

 

“Hey, V, I have an odd fashion question.” Betty said and brought her hand up to her mouth, chewing the pad of her thumb.

 

“Oh, I love a good challenge. Okay, shoot.”

 

“Hypothetically, if I was to say, be going to a biker bar tonight, what would I wear?”

 

“O. M. G.” Veronica squealed, “Betty Cooper are you going to the Whyte Wyrm tonight?” Betty laughed softly and flipped through her closet once more, pulling out a short black skirt before tossing it aside.

 

“Yeah, and I need something comfortable to ride on the back of a motorcycle. Juggy is picking me up soon.”

 

“You’re going with the incredibly handsome, dark, brooding Jughead Jones? Oh Betty, sweetie, it’s a biker bar. You gotta look HOT. How long do you have?”

 

“About two hours.”

 

“I’ll be over shortly.” The call ended and Betty chuckled as she continued flipping through her closet. By the time Veronica’s limo pulled up out front of the Cooper house Betty had laid out a few possible outfits before grabbing her robe and hurrying to open the door.

 

“This won’t take me long, Smithers! I’ll be out momentarily!” Veronica called over her shoulder, Smithers nodding before returning to the drivers seat where Betty saw him pick up a newspaper, “So, B.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why is an engaged woman going on a date with Jughead Jones?” Veronica asked with a grin as she followed Betty to the stairs, Betty shaking her head and laughing out loud at her question.

 

“Oh V, this is the farthest thing from a date. I’m meeting his friends in return for him coming to help haul out some furniture tomorrow.” Betty said as she led her to her old bedroom and opened the door, “My mom hated the Serpents, and Jug said she drug them through the mud and slandered them every chance she got when she owned the Register. All I’ve heard growing up is that the Serpents were awful, terrible, murderous gang bangers and sex traffickers. Jughead wants me to get an honest opinion for myself, especially since I’m Alice Cooper’s daughter.”

 

“B, can I know we’ve only known each other a very short time, but I already treasure you like a close friend and I don’t want to jeopardize that, but can I give you my honest opinion?” Veronica asked as she walked to Betty’s closet, pulling out a pair of skin tight black capris and handing them to Betty.

 

“I admire honesty.” Betty answered and laid the capris out on her bed before joining Veronica at her closet. She turned and took Betty’s hands in her own, looking down at the diamond ring on her new friend’s finger.

 

“I know today was only our second day of seeing each other, and first official day of hanging out, but everything I heard about your fiancee today made me question if you are truly happy. I am in no way trying to suggest what you should do, it’s your relationship and if you are happy and you love him, then so be it. I’m just worried, maybe you aren’t as truly happy as you make yourself believe.” Betty swallowed hard and avoided Veronica’s gaze as her eyes stung with tears she was willing away.

 

“Michael is just...” she started, clearing her throat and forcing herself to smile up at Veronica in faux reassurance, “He can be a difficult man to love.”

 

“I just want you truly happy, B. I’m sorry if I stepped on your toes.” Betty pulled Veronica into a hug, thanking her for her honesty and looking out for her before they turned to Betty’s closet and finished piecing together an outfit. Veronica turned her back as Betty dressed, seeing the blonde’s phone light up where it lay on the bed next to her discarded robe.

 

“B, you have a text from tall, dark, and handsome. ‘Hope you’re ready to go, I’m headed your way to pick you up, can’t wait to introduce you to everyone’. Seriously, Betty, are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two? Because although I do not condone cheating, I do support a possible Bughead romance.”

 

“Bughead?” Betty asked with a laugh as she slid her capris on, followed by a strapless nude bra. She picked up a white low shoulder crop top that had a white lace overlay and slid it on before slipping her feet down into a pair of black stiletto booties, zipping up the backs and stepping towards her floor length mirror.

 

“That’s what I’m going to call you guys when you finally get it on. Did you not see the way he looked at you when he walked away?”

 

“We’re just friends, V, and we’ve spoken less than you and I have.”

 

“Girl, soulmates, okay? A lot of people don’t believe in that but I am a firm believer you do not have to know someone long to know there is just… _something_ there. Something meant to be. Also going off the fact that Jughead doesn’t escort _any_ lady to meet his extended family at the Wyrm.” Veronica said before Betty cleared her throat, Veronica turning around and feeling her jaw drop. 

 

“Well?”

 

“Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes, you are going to knock him on his ass!” she cheered and saw the blush spread on Betty’s cheeks, “Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.” Veronica added as they heard the loud roar of a motorcycle engine. Both girls crowded the window as they saw a sleek black Harley Davidson pull up behind the limo, the engine cutting off and it’s owner leaning it over on it’s kickstand. He reached up and slid the helmet off, shaking out his dark hair and running a hand through them before dismounting the motorcycle. Betty found herself swallowing hard before she could stop herself and Veronica giggled at her friend. 

 

“I’ll go distract him while you do a smoky eye shadow and fierce cat eye liner. Hashtag Bughead is endgame.” Veronica teased and rushed out of the room before Betty could remind her they were only friends. Betty slid in to her makeup chair and pulled out her makeup as she heard the front door open and a surprised Jughead greeting Veronica. It didn’t take Betty long at all to do her makeup and hurried to leave her bedroom, stopping for one last look at herself in her mirror. 

 

“Here’s hoping I don’t stick out like a sore thumb.” she muttered to herself and made her way to the stairs. 

 

“Is she almost ready?” she heard Jughead ask, Betty taking a deep breath and rounding the corner into the foyer. Jughead glanced up, doing a double take when he saw her and reached up, scratching his neck as he cleared his throat. 

 

“I’d say she is.” Veronica said with a smile and stepped to the side.

 

_Holy fuck_ . Jughead thought to himself as the blonde made her way to him, a shy smile on her face. 

 

“Where’s your onesie? I liked it.” he teased and laughed at Veronica’s glare. 

 

“I hope this okay for your bar.” she said and looked down at her outfit, then back up at him, searching for his approval. 

 

_Better than okay._

 

“You look great, Betts. You ready?” he asked and she nodded, Betty thanking Veronica for her help as the three stepped out of the front door. 

 

“Have fun on your date you two!” Veronica called out playfully as she hurried ahead of them to her limo where she had left Smithers waiting on her. 

 

“Not a date, Ronnie!” Jughead called after her and led Betty to his motorcycle, “Ever ridden on one of these bad boys before?” 

 

“No but I’ve always wanted to.” she answered and he grinned, grabbing his helmet off of the back of his motorcycle.

 

“Well first off, this is a helmet and will protect your head in case of an accident.” he teased and she scowled, propping her hands on her hips. 

 

“I know what that is, Juggy.” His only response was to laugh and smile, sliding it over her head and tilting her chin up slightly so he could adjust the strap for her. 

 

“Lean with the motorcycle when we go around a curve, not against or we could have some serious problems. Tap my shoulder twice if you need to stop, three times if it’s an emergency, and hold on tight. Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no.” 

 

“Roger that.” she answered and he threw his leg over the bike, holding his hand out for her. She got on behind him and he kicked the kickstand back up, Betty’s arms snaking around his waist as the motorcycle roared to life underneath her. She couldn’t help the smile that plastered her face as he revved the engine a few times. 

 

“You ready?!” he called over his shoulder, Betty giving him a thumbs up and Jughead smiled big before turning to face the road and taking off. He smirked to himself as Betty’s arms tightened around him, her hands gripping his t-shirt as they flew down the road of her neighborhood. 

 

Betty loved the adrenaline that she felt as they traveled down the road towards the Wyrm, squealing with laughter and tightening her hold on Jughead when they rounded sharp curves. She watched her hometown flash by, the fancy houses, the fancy park, the fancy storefronts. The second they crossed the railroad tracks it was obvious they had left the Northside and entered Southside Riverdale.  They passed older looking homes that were slowly slipping into varying states of disrepair, over grown lawns, the tagged and busted up building of Southside High. Betty sat up a little straighter so she could look around easier, her hands resting on Jughead’s waist as they passed abandoned buildings, a community center that looked like it was barely hanging on with a playground that had been tagged and nearly destroyed. Only one of the four swings was still attached, the slide was covered in so much graffiti that Betty couldn’t tell you if it was plastic or metal. A climbing wall was clearly missing most of the pieces and a seesaw only had one seat to it. She felt a sad tug at her heart when she saw the disrepair of the playground before it was left in their trail as Jug made his way towards the bar. The sign for Sunnyside Trailer Park stood up ahead, the trailer park flying past and Betty remembering how much Archie used to sneak her out there to play with Jughead after her mother had forbade her to go. 

 

It wasn’t long until Jughead pulled into a parking lot and killed the engine, the infamous Whyte Wyrm standing before them. He helped her off of the bike and slid her helmet off for her, watching as she took in her surroundings. There had to have been at least thirty or forty bikes in the parking lot, and a few of their owners were standing outside drinking, smoking and conversing with one another. All eyes were watching Jughead and Betty. 

 

“You okay? You look scared.” he said softly as he big green eyes looked up at the giant serpent painted on the sign for the bar, a bright neon green serpent sign on the wall next to the door. 

 

“Just a little intimidating.” she answered softly and Jughead threw his arm around her shoulder, giving her arm a squeeze and trying to comfort her. 

 

“Just wait until you see the inside. Just relax, Betts. No one is gonna hurt you, I won’t let them.”

 

“Are you sure?” she asked as she looked up at him, Jughead giving her a comforting squeeze and smile. 

 

“I promise. I’ll protect you. But, cast out everything negative you’ve heard and come in here with a clean slate.” 

 

“Alright, Juggy.” she answered with a sheepish smile, Jughead letting her go and placing his hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the front door.

 

“Sup, Boss?” one of the younger members asked as the pair reached the door, Jughead patting him firmly on the shoulder before opening the door and letting Betty walk in ahead of him. Loud rock music met her ears, cigarette and obvious pot smoke making her choke slightly. She went to turn to look for Jughead but his comforting touch on her back let her know he was there, she was safe. 

 

Of course no one was going to hurt her if he had anything to say about it. He was their King, and it was obvious how well respected he was when he entered the bar. 

 

“Serpents!” He called over the music, sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a shrill whistle. Instantly the bar grew quiet, Jughead motioning to kill the music to someone Betty couldn’t see, but obviously they saw him because not a second later the music had died. 

 

“Who’s the Northsider?” she heard someone murmur, Betty feeling her face growing bright red as all eyes were on them. 

 

“This is a dear old friend of mine, Betty Cooper!” he announced and the whispers immediately began. 

 

Betty wished for the floor to swallow her whole.

 

“Cooper? As in Alice and Hal Cooper? The hell is she doing here?” an angry voice asked from near the back of the bar, Betty looking up and seeing the flicker of irritation in Jughead’s eyes but he quickly masked it with a smirk. 

 

Please, God, swallow her now. 

 

“Easy does it, Tallboy. She’s nothing like her parents, like her mom. Betty’s here to get to know you guys. Make her feel welcomed!” With that Jughead ended the conversation, signaling for the music to return. It did, along with all halted conversations and Jughead placed his mouth to Betty’s ear. 

 

“Come with me to the bar, will get you something to relax you.” he said and took her hand, weaving through the crowded floor and finally making their way to the bar. A group of younger Serpents looked up as Jughead approached them, the college aged kids greeting the both of them before moving away to free up some bar stools. 

 

“So you made it out here to visit us after all. Gotta admit, I was starting to wonder if you were going to.” The girl Betty met at the diner said from behind the bar as she was mixing up a drink, pouring it into a glass and handing it off to an older woman who was waiting patiently behind Jughead for her drink. 

 

“What’s your poison?” Jughead asked and Betty shrugged, the dark haired man raising an eyebrow and smirking, “What, you don’t drink?”

 

“Wine.” Betty answered innocently and both Jughead and Toni laughed.

 

“Toni, make her our signature Snake Bite, I’ll take some Whiskey for now.” 

 

“Sure thing, Boss man!” Toni said with a playful salute before pulling out bottles of liquor. Betty watched in fascination as she watched Toni work, amazed at her speed and how easy and flawless she made the drink. In no time at all Toni had placed a bright green drink in front of her in a sugar rimmed glass, sliding a glass of whiskey to Jughead. He held up his drink to Betty, the blonde taking hers and holding it up. 

 

“Thank you for coming out with me. Here’s to clearing up misinterpretation and to hopefully forging new friendships.” he said and Betty smiled, the two clinking their glasses together before taking sips at the same time. 

 

“Holy bananas!” Betty squeaked as the sour drink nearly crossed her eyes, Toni giggling and Jughead downing his whiskey and smiling in amusement as she shook her head quickly to recover. 

 

“Whatcha think?” Toni asked as she leaned on the bar, Betty looking down at the drink and then at her. 

 

“It’s so sour, but this is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.” she said before taking another sip, the sour drink making her eyes screw shut and her jaw nearly lock, “It’s like a liquid Warhead candy. I loved those.” 

 

“Betty Cooper, we meet again.” A voice said from behind them, Betty spinning around in her seat and smiling when she saw Sweet Pea standing there. 

 

“Sweet Pea. Here to try more suggestive pick up lines?” she asked and heard Toni giggling behind her. 

 

“Nah, I’m here to welcome you, and challenge you.” He answered with an amused grin, his arms crossed in front of him, a beer bottle hanging from one hand. 

 

“Challenge me to what?” She asked in confusion, looking from Sweet Pea to Jughead who was smirking at the two, “What?”

 

“Sweet Pea likes to kick every new Serpent’s ass in a game of pool.” Jughead answered and Betty raised an eyebrow, looking over at the pool tables in the middle of the car. 

 

“I’m not a Serpent though.” she said before taking a large gulp of her drink, hoping the alcohol would kick in quickly and help her relax. 

 

“Boss man Jughead brought you in as his exclusive guest. For tonight, that’s close enough. What do you say, accept my challenge?” he asked as he held his hand out to you. 

 

“I played a lot of pool at the academy and in college.” she said with a smile and raised eyebrow, “Are you sure you’re ready to get your butt kicked by a girl?” 

 

“Oh I doubt you will.” Sweet Pea teased and Betty took his hand, shaking on it, “Toni, line us up some shots will you? She’ll need something to ease the pain of defeat.” 

 

“You might want to get off your high horse there, Sweet Pea. It’s a pretty long fall.” Betty teased and followed him to the middle of the room where people were stepping back to give them room. Jughead hopped up to sit on the edge of the bar so he could get a better view of the pool table, Sweet Pea handing Betty a pool stick as Fangs placed the balls in the rack.

 

“Ladies first.” Sweet Pea offered and stepped back to allow Betty room to approach the pool table as Toni brought a tray of shots out to them. They both grabbed a shot glass and stared each other down as they downed them at the same time. 

 

“You sure you want to do this? You still have time to back out.” Betty teased as she placed the white ball. 

 

“You wish, Cooper.” Sweet Pea answered and Betty took her position. Jughead watched as she positioned herself and found himself biting in his lower lip as he watched her bending over and lining up her shot. 

 

“You got some drool.” Toni teased and Jughead jumped, wiping his mouth to find nothing and looking over at a chuckling Toni, “She is hot. When you gonna get that?” 

 

“She’s engaged.” 

 

“Oh, well damn him then. That’s not fair to the rest of us to keep her all to himself.” she said and Jughead shook his head in amusement just as the sound of the white ball making contact with the other balls could be heard. From the sound that the spectators made, this was going to be a bad game for Sweet Pea. 

 

* * *

 

“Last call! Closing soon!” Jughead announced from the bar, Toni reaching over and flickering the lights for him. 

 

“I can’t believe you kicked my ass. A girl kicked my ass!” Sweet Pea said as he and Betty stumbled towards Jughead, Sweet Pea’s arm laying around her shoulder as they both nearly tripped and started laughing. 

 

“I warned you!” Betty slurred as she jabbed him in the side with her elbow, Sweet Pea laughing again as Fangs stumbled his way towards them and stood on Betty’s other side, his arm going around her too. 

 

“Jughead, boss man, can you bring her back? We like her!” Fangs said, nearly dropping his empty beer bottle and Jughead looked over at Betty who was one big smile. 

 

“Of course, as long as Betty wants to come back.” he answered, happy with how easily accepted she had been by some of his closest members. 

 

“Okay, next time you come, we’re playing darts, and I’m definitely kicking your ass.” Sweet Pea said as Toni held out a fish bowl that had a couple dozen sets of keys in it. 

 

“Fangs, Sweet Pea, cough ‘em up. You’re walking home or calling and Uber tonight.” she said, the two fishing in their pockets for their motorcycle keys.

 

“Alright, but I’ll be here first thing in the morning to get them back.” Fangs slurred and kissed Betty’s cheek goodbye before heading for the front door to leave, Sweet Pea mimicking the same goodbye and hurrying to catch up with his friend. 

 

“Hey, you, looks like you had a bit much to drink.” Jughead said as he helped Betty to find purchase on a bar stool and sit down. 

 

“Sorry, Juggy, I don’t ‘member how many shots I had.” she said through a giggle, waving goodbye to Serpents as they were leaving. 

 

“I can’t get you home on my bike like that, you’ll kill yourself.” 

 

“Well, crap, it looks like I’m screwed.” Betty said with a laugh as Toni handed her a glass of ice water and a straw. 

 

“How do you feel about crashing at my place? You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the couch and I’ll take you home in the morning.” Jughead suggested as Betty downed nearly half the glass of water without taking a breath. Betty looked down at her phone to see four missed calls and half a dozen text messages from Michael, each one angrier than the last. She had a few voicemails also, and each one was progressing in anger. 

 

_**Phone’s nearly dead,** _

_**need new charger.** _

_**Call in am,** _

_**Love, Betty.** _

 

Thankfully auto-correct helped Betty to write out a coherent message to Michael and sent it before shutting her phone off and looking up at Jughead.

 

“I would be most appreciative.” she answered with a grin, pocketing the cell phone and finishing off her water.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Betty moaned softly as she rolled over onto her back, grimacing as a spring pushed into her back, the rough sheets scratching against her soft skin. With her eyes still shut to block the light filtering through the curtains she stretched her body out, feeling a loose t shirt riding up her flat stomach.

 

“What in the?” she asked herself and sat up, looking down at the faded green t-shirt with an S printed across the front. She moved the covers off of her legs to see her pants were missing; she only had her pair of white satin panties. She pulled the collar of the shirt out and looked down, noticing her bra was missing too.

 

“What in the world?” she muttered to herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet landing in a pile of discarded clothing and she gasped when she saw Jughead’s clothes from the previous night. In a panic she snatched her capris up and slid them on, rushing to open the door and let out a startled cry when she found Jughead standing on the other side, his hand frozen where he was reaching for the door handle. She looked him up and down, his well toned torso bare and a pair of black sweat pants resting on his hips and just barely hanging on.

 

“You okay, Betts?” he asked, her attention snapping back up to eyes and swallowing hard.

 

“Jug, what did we do last night?”

 

“ _Easy there, Betts, you’re gonna break an ankle.” Jughead said as he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her as they walked, her arm resting around his back._

 

“ _Juggy I had so much fun tonight, thank you for this.” she said with a giggle before stumbling again, her giggle turning into a laugh as she managed to stand upright, “You still live here, Juggy?”_

 

“ _I still live here.” Jughead said as they made their way into Sunnyside Trailer Park, Betty stumbling on the gravel and nearly taking him with her to the ground, “Alright, Grace, no more walking for you.”_

 

“ _You are such a gentleman.” she said with a grin as he literally swept her off her feet, heading towards his trailer as she wrapped her arms around his neck, “Do you remember, Juggy, when I used to sneak down here all the time as a kid? Man, my mom was a total witch about me playing with you.”_

 

“ _I remember, Betts. We had a lot of fun back then.” he said and saw her smile out of the corner of his eye, feeling her tuck her head into the crook of his neck. When he reached his trailer he sat her down gently on her feet on his porch, digging his keys out of his pocket to unlock his door._

 

“ _Oh...why is everything spinning?” she asked, Jughead turning in alarm just in time to grab her before she tumbled off the top step of his porch._

 

“ _Come on, you.” he said and picked her back up, carrying her into the trailer like a new bride on her wedding night. He kicked the door closed, taking her into his kitchen and setting her down gently on one of the dining table chairs._

 

“ _Juggy, I don’t feel good. Everything is spinning so fast.” she whimpered and Jughead rushed to grab an empty bucket out from under the sink, hurrying to Betty just in time to catch her stomach contents. He ran his fingers through her hair and gathered it up, keeping it pulled back out of her face so she wouldn’t get puke in it._

 

“ _It’s okay, I’m here.” he said softly, fighting off a gag as the smell hit him. When she was done he set the bucket aside and got her a warm cloth to clean up, “Come on, Betts, let’s get you to the bathroom and I’ll get you a change of clothes.”_

 

_He slid her ankle high boots off for her, standing and helping her to her feet. She moved on two unsteady legs down the hallway with him, thanking him when he opened the door._

 

“ _I’ll be right back, okay?” he reassured her, stepping into his room and tossing his leather jacket onto the bed. He slid out of his clothes, leaving them in a crumpled mess in front of his nightstand. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, sliding them on again just as he heard Betty coughing and gagging from the bathroom._

 

“ _I’m coming, Betts!” he called, reaching blindly in his drawer and grabbing whatever he could get a hold of before hurrying back to her._

 

“You puked your brains out until you fell asleep. I put you to bed but I admit, I slept next to you so I could make sure you didn’t aspirate if you vomited in your sleep.” Betty hung her head in shame and embarrassment, covering her face with her hand as she groaned.

 

“Oh God, Jug, I’m so so sorry. That’s not like me, I swear. Jesus, my head is killing me.”

 

“I’ll make you some breakfast and get you some aspirin.” he offered softly, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze, “Hey, it’s okay, it’s not the first time anyone’s puked on me, probably won’t be the last.”

 

“Oh God I puked on you?!” she cried out in horror as her head shot up, wincing in pain and fighting back the wave of nausea that followed.

 

“Well, it was more splash back that got me but I was trying to hold your hair back.” Betty felt her heart strings tug a bit at Jughead’s statement and he gave her a crooked grin, “No more tequila shots for you, Cooper. I have never seen someone as miserable as you were. Though it was impressive, for someone as small as you being able to keep pace with Sweet Pea on shots. By the way, you completely won him and Fangs over last night. I’m pretty sure they fell in love with you.”

 

“They like me?” she asked with a smile that quickly faded to a frown and Jughead tilted her head up to look up at him.

 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he asked and crouched down a little when she avoided his eyes, “Betty?”

 

“I never really had friends after I moved, and I come back here and it’s almost like I never left. You and Archie took me back as if I had just left for a vacation for a week instead of sixteen years, and then I became friends with Ronnie and now Sweet Pea and Fangs. And that’s all going to go away after I sell the house and go back to New York. I’ll have to leave, and you guys will be here, and I’ll go back to...to business associates instead of friends, fancy and uncomfortable restaurants instead of a cozy booth at Pop’s, and...and Michael.” Tears that were brimming in her big green eyes were now slowly sliding down her cheeks.

 

“Betty...”

 

“I’m sorry, Jughead, that was careless of me. Sometimes it’s just hard trying to maintain the perfection that is expected of me.” Betty was surprised when Jughead pulled her into a hug, her arms moving to press her hands against his well toned back, thanking the good Lord that he couldn’t see the blush that had spread across her cheeks.

 

Jughead held her close, his strong arms enveloping her as her sad expression burned into his brain. She was slowly coming undone and falling apart and he was trying everything he could to help hold her together. He hated to see her sad, to see her upset, but maybe, if she had to put up the picture of perfection every day of her life she needed to come undone. He felt her hot tears fall onto his bare skin, his embrace tightening briefly before stepping back and holding her at arm’s length.

 

“Betty, it’s okay to not be perfect.” he said softly and she shook her head.

 

“No, no Jug you don’t understand, it’s not okay.” She said softly, reaching up and wiping her tears off of her cheek.

 

“But it is, Betty, it is okay.”

 

“No, Jughead, I have to be perfect. I _have_ to. From the time the sun rises until it sets, and the hours I’m asleep in between I _have_ to.”

 

“Betty, what are you talking about?” She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head and stepping back out of Jughead’s grasp.

 

“I need to head home so I can finish getting some pictures. Thank you for letting me crash here so I could sleep. I’m uh, I’m still sorry I puked on you.”

 

“No, Betty, you’re not going anywhere until you eat and take some medicine. I can guarantee that headache just got worse.” he said and she nodded, her brain finally registering the throbbing and aching, “Go get comfortable on the couch, I’m gonna get a shirt. Bacon grease hurts pretty bad on bare skin.”

 

* * *

 

“Can I ask you a question?” Betty asked after they dismounted the motorcycle, Jughead walking with her up the stone steps.

 

“Yeah, go for it.”

 

“When we ran into each other in town, you seemed to be in a hurry, was everything okay?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I was meeting Archie at the police station. He works with his dad for the family business now and apparently someone came out there last night and worked over some of their equipment with a crowbar so he was filing a police report.”

 

“That’s awful! Why would they do that?” she asked and Jughead shrugged, stopping at her front door and turning to look at her.

 

“I’m not sure, everyone loves Fred and Archie, they’re like, the golden boys of Riverdale and a representation of all things good. Whoever it was left a note nailed to their door.”

 

“What did it say?”

 

“I’m watching.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked as she shifted her weight to one foot and crossed her arms.

 

“I’m not sure, and they busted up the security cameras before they went on their rampage.”

 

Lollipop started blaring from her purse, Betty sighing and digging it out quickly, Jughead seeing Michael’s name on the screen, catching a glimpse of his picture too. He just exuded douchiness from his picture alone.

 

“Crap.” Betty muttered, quieting the phone and looking up at Jughead with a silent apology.

 

“ _I’m here, I’m here.” Jughead soothed as he placed a hand on her back, pulling her hair back with the other and rubbing her back as she vomited again. Betty coughed and sputtered into the toilet, reaching blindly for the toilet paper and grabbing a wad as she sat back on her heels, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet. Jughead grabbed a new wash cloth and ran it under the cool water, sitting on the side of the bathtub and wiping Betty’s face for her._

 

“ _I’m never drinking Tequila again, I swear on my whole collection of mint condition Nancy Drew books.” she moaned, leaning against his knee. Jughead moved his leg and pulled her close, Betty sitting in the floor between his legs as he sat on the edge of the bathtub, her head laying against his thigh. He ran his fingers slowly through her hair, trying to help her relax before the next wave of nausea sent her flying for the toilet and vomiting again. Jughead was by her side again, rubbing her back and holding her hair back. He stood too close though, vomit splattering the bottom of his shirt and he held back a gag. When she was done he handed her the wash cloth again, pulling his shirt off and sitting back down on the edge of the tub. She was quick to scoot back between his legs and rest her head on his thigh again._

 

“ _I feel like I’m dying, Juggy.”_

 

“ _No, not dying, at least not today.” he reassured her and she groaned, her hand coming up and resting on his thigh._

 

“ _I’m so sorry I drank so much, I didn’t embarrass you, did I?” she asked, her voice shaky as she sniffled, Jughead feeling his heart break._

 

“ _No, Betty, we had a blast, and you had so much fun. You didn’t embarrass anyone, I promise.” he said and she turned her head to look back up at him._

 

“ _Juggy?”_

 

“ _Yes, Betts?”_

 

“ _Thank you.” she said softly and closed her eyes as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. They sat in the bathroom a while longer until Betty finally quit vomiting and dozed off, tucked between his legs with her head on his thigh. He moved slowly and stood up, gathering her in his arms and walking her to his bedroom. He laid her down on her side, tucking his comforter around her and placing her barf bucket next to the bed. He climbed in next to her, determined not to let her choke on her own vomit so he could keep his promise of her not dying._

 

“ _Juggy?” he heard her whisper softly, her voice heavy with fatigue._

 

“ _What’s wrong, Betty?” he asked and reached over, placing a hand on her back and feeling her whole body tense. He rubbed it gently, Betty relaxing under his touch._

 

“ _Thank you...for not hurting me...” Her voice was slurring as she slipped further into sleep, Jughead turning to look at her and propping himself up on his elbow._

 

“ _Why would I hurt you?”_

 

_She was already fast asleep._

 

“Thank you for taking me home, I’ll call Archie today and set up a time to move this furniture out.”

 

“You’re welcome, just let me know when.” he said, Betty giving him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before unlocking her door. As she stepped through the threshold ‘Lollipop’ started playing again, this time Betty placing the phone to her ear.

 

“ _Elizabeth? Where were you?”_ Jughead heard the stern voice ask as she turned and gave him a small, sad smile before waving goodbye. Jug waved back, turning and heading towards his bike as he shook his head.

 

“Fucking asshole.” he seethed as Michael’s picture flashed through his mind. He decided he was going to go home, grab his laptop, and head to Pop’s for some coffee and research on just who this Michael was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading and all of the wonderful feedback, you guys are the best. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, stay tuned for more to come!


	6. Chapter 6

“Please don’t hurt yourself!” Betty warned, watching as Jughead and Sweet Pea started lifting the heavy couch, Fangs and Archie tackling the heavy granite coffee table.

 

“Good God, Betty, why does this weigh two tons?” Sweet Pea asked through gritted teeth, Betty apologizing as he and Jughead managed to get it out the front door and down to the road where a moving van sat waiting. Archie and Fangs followed shortly with the table, Betty pulling out her notebook and standing in the middle of the living room to get a better view.

 

“Dude, I didn’t think helping your girlfriend meant breaking our backs.” Sweet Pea grunted as he started walking backwards up the loading ramp, Jughead trying to keep the couch balanced without straining his back.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you guys, she’s not my girlfriend.” Jughead said, the guys sighing in relief as they finally got to set the sofa down.

 

“Yeah, yeah, we know, we just like getting under your skin.” Sweet Pea answered, walking past Jughead and giving him a playful punch in the shoulder as he moved to hop out of the back of the truck.

 

“Watch out!” Archie warned as he and Fangs began to ascend the ramp, setting the table down and scooting it to the back of the truck, “How much more do we have?”

 

“I don’t even wanna know.” Fangs grumbled as he and Archie jumped out of the back of the truck, Jughead making a move to follow when a man coming down the sidewalk caught his eye. On any other day it wouldn’t have phased Jughead, but something felt off about the man as he walked, a Golden Retriever pulling at the leash he had in his hand. Jughead slowly walked down the ramp, glancing up at the house to make sure everyone else was inside. The man drew closer and Jughead raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look up at Betty’s house, his pace slowing and his gaze never breaking.

 

“Can I help you?” Jughead asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk in his path, the man jumping and coming to a halt as his dog pulled on the leash to keep going.

 

“Easy, Rocky.” the man said, turning his attention over to Jughead and giving him a grin. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, a red baseball cap covering his hair, “You guys moving?”

 

“My friend is, yeah.” Jughead answered, crossing his arms in front of himself as he watched the excited dog jump up and smear mud on the guy’s gray tracksuit.

 

“Rocky, bad dog!” the man scolded and pushed the dog back down, “Say, isn’t this the Cooper household? I thought they moved a long time ago.”

 

“Who...are you?” Jughead asked, the guy visibly tensing as he slowly looked up at Jughead, the biker placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket and wrapping his fingers around his switchblade.

 

“Jug? You coming?” Betty called from the front door, both the men turning their attention to the blonde.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be right...there...Hey!” he shouted as he turned to look back at the guy who was almost sprinting down the sidewalk, the dog in tow. Jughead narrowed his eyes and watched him disappear at the end of the block before turning to meet Betty at the front door.

 

“Hey, you okay?” she asked as she reached out and placed a hand on his arm, Jughead looking back down the road of the quiet neighborhood, “Who was that guy?”

 

“I’m not sure, some neighborhood creep.” Jughead answered before turning his attention back to Betty, her big green eyes searching his and he swallowed hard, “What uh, what else do you need moved out?”

 

* * *

 

“Betty, I gotta bail, I’ve got some plans I really can’t skip out on.” Archie said as he walked up to the blonde and gave her a hug, Betty thanking him as Jughead, Sweet Pea, and Fangs waved goodbye.

 

“Is that everything?” Sweet Pea asked as he walked over to Betty and threw his arm around her shoulder, Betty laughing softly and reaching up to pat his hand in reassurance.

 

“Yes, Sweet Pea, that’s everything. Thank you guys for all of your help. Are you sure I can’t pay you You’ve nearly broken your backs today.”

 

“You’re our friend, Betts, I’m not taking your money.” Jughead said, Fangs and Sweet Pea nodding in agreement, “Why don’t we head to Pop’s and get something to eat. I’m starved.”

 

‘Sounds good to me. Betty, you coming?” Sweet Pea asked and she shook her head, looking around at the living room.

 

“I’m gonna have to take a rain check. I’m gonna finish staging the downstairs and start editing the pictures I do have so I can get them ready to post for the listing.”

 

“Oh come on, Betty, can’t you do that later?” Fangs begged as he stood, both he and Sweet Pea standing on either side of her and wrapping her in a tight hug.

 

“Oh, geez guys!” she squeaked with laughter, Jughead smiling and leaning back on the arm of the remaining couch.

 

“Told you they fell in love with you.” he said as both the Serpents embracing her gave her two big grins.

 

“How about I treat you all to dinner some time? We can do pizza, beer and movies.” Betty suggested and giggled as their embrace tightened, “You’re gonna make me pass out.”

 

“Jughead, she’s the best. Can we keep her when the house sells?” Fangs asked and Jughead gave her a sad smile, Betty raising an eyebrow as he smile slowly faded into a look of concern.

 

“Let’s go eat guys.” he said as he stood straight, fishing his keys out of his pocket. Sweet Pea and Fangs planted a kiss on her cheeks at the same time before saying goodbye and heading outside to their motorcycles, “Are you sure you can’t come? I’d feel better if you did.”

 

“I’m fine, Jughead. I’m just gonna work on some pictures, heat up some leftover Chinese from last night and call it a day. Maybe watch some Netflix on my laptop.”

 

He nodded, reaching up and scratching the side of his nose as he looked away from her, Betty reaching forward and taking his free hand into both of hers. Jughead nearly froze, her small warm hands wrapped around his large and rough one.

 

“Juggie? What’s wrong?” she asked softly, taking a step closer to him and turning his head so his eyes met hers.

 

“I just have a lot on my mind lately. I’m fine, Betts. I’ll call you in a little while and make sure you’re okay for the evening.” He said before she closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug, Jughead wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head.

 

_Honeysuckle_ he thought as he inhaled her scent, stepping back and placing his hands on her shoulders. 

 

“Have fun, Juggie. I’ll see you later.” she said as she walked him to the door, moving to her tiptoes and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. 

 

“Ow ow!” he heard Sweet Pea call from the seat of his bike, Fangs laughing loudly and Jughead pinching the space between his eyes. 

 

“Sorry.” she said with a sheepish smile, Jughead waving it off before stepping out the door and Betty closing it behind him. He made it to his bike, swinging his leg over as Fangs and Sweet Pea made mock kissy faces at him, Jughead glaring at them both and causing them to bust out laughing. 

 

“Last one there gets his ass kicked.” Jughead said as his engine roared to life, taking off down the road and leaving them in the dust before they realized what happened. 

 

Betty watched as the three motorcycles took off down the street, sighing softly and moving away from the window and further into the empty house. She went ahead and set up her tripod for the morning, placing her camera on it before grabbing her laptop and settling down the couch.  She reached over and turned the tv on to the nightly news, pulling up her photos she had already uploaded to her laptop and sorting through to pick out her favorites of each room. It wasn’t long before her stomach was growling with hunger and she looked up, the clock on the wall reading 10:30 at night. 

 

“Let’s go eat.” she muttered to herself as she headed to the kitchen. She pulled her take out containers out of the fridge, dumping her orange chicken and fried rice out on a plate before popping them into the microwave. She hummed to herself as she waited, glancing up as a blur outside her window caught her attention. 

 

Her heart seemed to trip over itself as she stood still, waiting to see if she saw anything else. When she decided it was probably an owl that flew past the window, a sound made the blood in her veins turn ice cold. 

 

The door handle was turning, slowly. 

 

Betty reached into her pocket, taking her phone out with shaky hands and quickly hitting her speed dial.

 

* * *

 

 

“What’s wrong, Boss?” Fangs asked as he dipped his fries in his ketchup, Sweet Pea leaning over to look at Jughead’s computer screen.

 

“Hey, who’s Michael Weston?” he asked with a mouthful of cheeseburger, Jughead picking up his milkshake and taking a large gulp from it as he scrolled through an official biography of him, ending up on a picture of him and Betty at a charity function, “Oh shit, that’s her fiancee, right?”

 

“Yeah.” Jughead said as he studied the picture. Betty stood next to Michael, his hand resting on her lower back. She stood so there was a gap between them, her smile big but her eyes were empty. He stood a good foot taller than her, his light brown hair combed back out of his face. He had a strong square jawline, his mouthed pressed into a tight, firm line and just a hint of five o’ clock shadow. 

 

“Checking out your competition? I mean, he’s a muscular looking dude but we could take him.” Sweet Pea said before taking another bite of his cheeseburger, shoving a couple fries in behind it and washing it down with a swig of soda. 

 

“He’s dangerous.” Jughead said, Fangs snorting and looking over at their leader. 

 

“Yeah? So are you. So are we. Most people don’t know half the shit we’ve done. We’re a _gang._ ” Fangs said and watched Jughead slide his beanie off, tossing it onto the table as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

 

“I’ve been researching this guy for a few days now and I’m not liking what I keep seeing.” he growled as he clicked on another link, “I need to get in deeper. There’s something not adding up with this guy. Fuck!” he hissed, shutting his laptop and tapping his fingers across the top. 

 

“What’s wrong, Boss?” Fangs asked as he sat up straighter, Jughead running his hands down his face and pulling out his phone. 

 

“We need Black Hat.” he said as he pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts before selecting one and placing it to his ear. 

 

“ _Hello?”_ a gruff voiced asked from the other end. 

 

“Bloodhound, it’s Jughead.” 

 

“ _What can I do for you, Jug?”_

 

“I need a favor.”

 

“ _Anything.”_

 

“I need you to find Black Hat for me. I know it’s been a while since any of the Serpents have seen him, but this is an emergency.”

 

“ _I’m on it boss. I’ll call you as soon as I figure something out.”_ With that Jughead ended the call and slid his laptop into his bag, taking another gulp of his milkshake before a mouthful of burger. At that moment his phone started going off and Sweet Pea chuckled. 

 

“Alright, Bloodhound, that was fast.” he said and Jughead shook his head, choking down his mouthful of burger as he placed the phone to his ear. 

 

“Hey, Betts.” he said, raising an eyebrow when he didn’t receive an answer. He put the phone on speaker, Fangs and Sweet Pea leaning in closer, “Betty?” 

 

“Jug...where are you?” she asked, her voice quiet and calm.

 

“We’re still at Pop’s.” he answered and heard her let out a small whine, this time when she spoke her voice was shaky and upset. 

 

“So you’re not currently at my back door trying to get in?” The three looked up at each other, Sweet Pea slapping money down on the table as they rushed to get out of the booth. 

 

“Betty, grab something to defend yourself and stay away from doors and windows. Now! We’re on our way.” Jughead reassured her as they ran across the parking lot and hopped on their bikes, each one tearing out of the parking lot and in the direction of Betty’s house. 

 

* * *

 

 

Betty backed slowly away from the kitchen, stepping into the dining room and feeling frightened tears welling in her eyes as the door handle shook violently. She stifled a scream as she backed into the dining room table, grabbing one of the heavy candelabras off the middle. The shaking stopped, Betty swallowing hard as her heart hammered in her chest. 

 

It was quiet. Too quiet.

 

Suddenly the window of the back door exploded as a rock came flying into the kitchen, Betty gasping as a gloved hand came through and reached  for the handle to unlock it. Fear turned anger and survival and she hurried forward, raising the wrought iron candelabra and smashing it down on the hand. A loud, angry cry answered her strike, the hand retreating quickly just before she heard a hard bash against the wood.

 

Whoever it was was trying to kick the door in. 

 

“Shit!” she hissed and took off, grabbing the chef’s knife out of the knife block as she darted for the front of the house. She decided against going upstairs. If she had to make a break for the outside she didn’t want to risk breaking a bone jumping out of a second story window. 

 

Coat closet? No. An obvious choice and a small space. She would have no room to fight if it came down to it. She darted to the only closed room, the half bath, shutting the door before she heard the splintering of the back door as it swung open, wanting to cry out when she realized the lock was busted on the bathroom doorknob. She backed against the sink, trying to keep her breathing as quiet as possible as her sobs threatened to give her away. She sat and listened, the sound of her own heartbeat deafening as it throbbed in her ears. 

 

“ _Please go away, please.”_ she begged mentally, trying to steady her shaking hands. A crunch of glass in the kitchen made her heart plummet into her stomach and she bit back a whimper. The heavy footsteps were slow, cautious, and she heard them moving through the dining room, then the living room, getting closer and closer to her spot. The closet door opened, Betty knowing she would be next. 

 

“ _It’s now or never, Betts. Time to fight.”_ Her grip on the knife tightened and her jaw clenched. Her heart was racing, her adrenaline pumping as the footsteps came to a stop in front of the bathroom, the door handle turning slowly. 


	7. Chapter 7

The late summer wind whipped around the three Serpents as they sped down the road towards Betty’s, Jughead in the lead with Fangs and Sweet Pea side by side behind him. The roar of their three engines filled the quiet night, the motorcycles weaving in and out of late night weekend traffic. Jughead ignored the stares, the looks of fear as they pushed to and then over the speed limit to get there.

 

No cops. Please, no fucking cops out. Let me get there. He pleaded with himself, glancing in one of his side mirrors to make sure Sweet Pea and Fangs were keeping up. The turn to her neighborhood came up quickly and Jughead felt as if he was going to lay the bike completely on it’s side to make it but by the grace of God he was able to right himself, his two friends doing the same. By the time they got to the house Jughead could barely get stopped and get his kickstand out before he hurried off the bike and running up the walk.

 

“Boss?”

 

“Fangs, garage. Sweet Pea, you stay here, I’ll go around the back.” Jughead instructed just before they heard a bone chilling scream inside the house.

 

“NO!”

 

“Betty!” Jughead cried out before he and Sweet Pea ran full force and threw their body weight into their shoulders and against the front door, the door frame splitting and splintering from the force. 

 

* * *

 

 

** “ It’s now or never, Betts. Time to fight.” **

 

Her heart was pounding, adrenaline and fear making her whole body shake as the door handle to the bathroom turned. She gripped the knife tightly and raised her hand as the door began to open, hot tears pouring down her cheeks. 

 

_ Fuck, Jughead, where are you?  _

 

If she was going to go down, she was going to go down fighting. 

 

“NO!” she screamed out as the door opened, rushing forward and preparing to start slashing. 

 

“Betty! No! Shit!” a familiar voice shouted as she brought her hand down, a hand catching her wrist and stopping the point of the blade inches from the body in front of her. 

 

“Archie?!  Oh thank God! ” she cried out as her adrenaline fueled blurry vision cleared and she saw his face, finally taking in a deep breath  and letting the knife clatter to the floor and flinging herself into his arms as relieved tears fell down her face. At that moment the front door swung open, the doorframe splintering all over the foyer as Archie held Betty tightly and pulled her back away from the intrusion. 

 

“Betty!” Jughead shouted out as he, Fangs, and Sweet Pea came barreling through the  front door, “Archie? What the fuck are you doing here?” 

 

“Jug!” Betty ran from Archie, the biker holding his arms open and picking her up when she flew into them, “Oh God you’re here!” 

 

“I was in my garage getting some tools to fix the kitchen faucet tomorrow morning when I heard glass shattering from over here. When I came outside I heard a door being kicked in and I came running. That’s when I found the back door was nearly demolished.” Archie said as Jughead was rubbing Betty’s back, Sweet Pea and Fangs taking off for kitchen  to inspect the damage. 

 

“Did you see anyone, Arch?” Sweet Pea called from the kitchen. 

 

“No, I was checking the house and Betty nearly stabbed me to death. I didn’t know she was home.”

 

“My car’s in the garage and I had the lights off while I was working on my laptop. It could have been a robber.” Betty said as she stepped back from Jughead. 

 

“Betty, go ahead and call the cops, get them out here so they can see if they can catch this guy. The guys and I will come out and fix the doors in the morning.” Jughead said and Betty nodded, pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking over to the couch to sit down. 

 

“I’m sorry, Juggie, I didn’t see anyone when I got over here.” Archie apologized, Jug walking over and patting him on the shoulder. 

 

“It’s okay, Arch, you may have scared him off and saved Betty’s life. Let’s just hope that they can catch the bastard.” 

 

“Cops are on their way.” Betty said from the couch, wiping her eyes and sinking back into the cushions. Jughead made his way over to her and sat down, placing and arm around her and pulling her against him, “ I’m sorry I ruined your dinner at Pop’s. What can I do to make it up to you?” 

 

“Betty...no...no no no you didn’t ruin anything. Ruining my dinner would be if you ended up dead and I’ll be damned if I let that happen. I’m just glad Archie was home to hear it.” Jughead sat with Betty as Sheriff Keller and his crew arrived, Sweet Pea and Fangs excusing themselves outside to go smoke. Archie stood in the kitchen with a deputy answering questions and describing what he heard happen, Betty talking to Sheriff Keller and holding Jughead’s hand so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Still though, Jughead rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand trying to soothe her and ignoring the questioning glances Keller kept giving him. 

 

“Mr. Jones, you’re the head of the Serpents, correct?” Keller asked, Jughead glaring over at him as he felt his body grow tense. 

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? The Serpents didn’t do this.” he snapped, feeling his temper flare. Betty turned to him, placing her free hand on their joined hands and giving him a reassuring  squeeze. 

 

“I’m not saying any Serpents are responsible for this. I’m wondering if it was an attack from the Ghoulies. Is it possible, in your opinion,  that it could be?” 

 

“Why would I get attacked by Ghoulies?” Betty asked in confusion, looking from Keller and to Jughead. He was staring at the floor, his eyes narrowed and jaw set firmly, “Juggie?” 

 

_ They were watching me in town. Malachi, their leader, was watching me that day I was talking to her. Were they watching the Wyrm when I brought her? Did they see me take her to my trailer? Did they follow us to her house? _

 

“Well if you two are...involved...and Mr. Jones here is a gang leader, they could be targeting you. The Ghoulies and the Serpents have been rivals since they formed over sixty years ago.” 

 

“We’re not involv-.”

 

“Yes.” Jughead choked out, Betty whipping her head around to look at Jughead, “It’s...It’s possible they could have done this.” 

 

He looked up at Keller and Betty frowned, swallowing hard at the anger in his eyes. 

 

“Jug...” 

 

“Miss Cooper, if you have a safe place to go tonight, I would go ahead and go. We’ll finish up here and board up your doors for you. Go ahead to your room and take what you need for tonight, and I’m sorry this happened to you. I’ll get started on this immediately.” the Sheriff said shook both of their hands before standing and walking to the kitchen. 

 

“Are you going to a hotel?” Jughead asked quietly, handing Betty a tissue as she sniffled.  She pulled out her phone, checking the time before calling someone at the front desk. Jughead listened as she spoke quietly, her voice still shaking. 

 

“It’s an indefinite time, right now. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying. Let’s say a week for now and I’ll extend it as see fit. Sounds great, thank you.” With that Betty hung up the phone and exhaled a heavy sigh, “They’ll have a room at the Five Seasons available tomorrow afternoon, until then, I don’t know.” 

 

“ Betty,” Jughead started, taking a deep breath and taking her hand in his, “When I ran into you in town the other day, I was being watched by the leader of the Ghoulies, Malachi, and some of his goons. There’s a chance we were being watched at the Wyrm or at my home. Betty, this could be my fault that you got attacked.” 

 

“I don’t blame you, Jughead. If being harassed by a bunch of delinquents is the price I have to pay to be your friend, well then it’s worth it. I’ll get a security system, or a weapon to defend myself, whatever I have to do. I thought I lost my friendships once, I’ll be damned if it happens again.” 

 

“Betty I don’t want you getting hurt.” 

 

“Tough, Jones, you’re stuck with me. If it’s okay with you, can I crash with you tonight?” Her voice was soft and shy, Betty avoiding his gaze when she asked as she blushed from embarrassment, “I mean, I can always find another place to go. I don’t want to burden you or make you uncomfortable. I know the other night I was drunk and you couldn’t get me all the way home, so I’m really sorry for asking this time. Actually, let me just call Sweetwater Motel and see if they have a room, that way I don’t inconvenience…you...” she rambled, slowing as Jughead placed a finger against her lips. 

 

“Breath. And then go pack your stuff and I’ll help you load your car so you can follow me to my house.” She smiled and leaned over towards him, giving him a tight hug before taking off for the stairs

 

* * *

 

Jughead opened the door for Betty, letting her walk in first as he followed behind with her overnight bag. She walked into the living room, letting her purse slide off her shoulder and down her arm, hitting the floor and spilling it’s contents out. 

 

“Betty?” Jughead asked as he locked the door, setting her bag down and walking up behind her. He placed a hand gently on her back, stepping around in front of her to see her eyes squeezed shut and tears running down her face. 

 

“Thank you for letting me crash here, again. I’m sorry if I’m burdening you.” she sniffled, reaching up and wiping her tears away on the back of her hand. Jughead said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her bury her face in his chest as her strength finally crumbled.  He reached up and pulled the elastic band from her hair, running his fingers through it to soothe her as her golden locks fell free. She tilted her head back to look up at him, her emerald green eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying, her bottom lip trembling as she held back tears. Jughead sighed softly as he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek. Her skin was so soft, his heart racing as his eyes traveled from hers down to her lips where she was biting her bottom lip. 

 

_ Oh, God help me  _ he begged as he felt his breath catch, his thumb running along her bottom lip and pulling it free from her teeth. Her lips...they were so plump, so tempting and inviting.  He stifled a groan and placed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. 

 

“Jughead...” Her voice was so soft and he loved the way it sounded coming from her. 

 

_ If I kiss her right now that would be taking advantage of her after all she went through tonight and then I would really be an asshole. Also...there’s a diamond on her finger that’s making her unavailable. _

 

“How about you get a relaxing, hot shower and I’ll find you something to eat. Then we can sit and try and get you relaxed before you go to bed.” His voice was shaky and hoarse as he fought an all out battle with himself to kiss her and God he really, really wanted to kiss her. He had had those feelings a few times now but dammit these were the strongest they had been since they started seeing each other more regular  basis. 

 

“I think that would be a wonderful idea.” she said softly and stepped back, taking her overnight bag with her and disappearing into the bathroom. By the time Betty had finished with her shower and had changed into a pair of pajamas Jughead had three turkey club sandwiches made, a couple sodas and a bag of chips s itting on the coffee table in the living room . 

 

“Feel better?” he asked as she walked in, using the towel to dry and wring the residual water out of her hair. 

 

“A hundred times better, thank you.” She answered as they sat down, Jughead taking a big bite out of one of his two sandwiches, “Juggy, I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here tonight. I don’t know if I could have made it through tonight by myself after what happened.” Jughead gave her a smile around a mouthful of food and Betty blushed as she looked down at her food, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. Her thoughts traveled to  earlier , to his strong embrace, to the way he was watching her lips and the way his warm breath felt on her skin. 

 

She had never wanted someone so bad as she did right then. Was it the situation? Was it the fact he had come to try and save her, whisking her away from the place of danger and offering her a place of safety? Was it still the adrenaline or shock of what happened? 

 

She knew she had been developing a little crush on Jughead, but that’s all she had allowed it to be. She knew she had to go back home to Michael soon and she couldn’t risk breaking her own heart by growing attached to anyone there. 

 

But Jughead...he was there for her, comforted her when she needed it, would call or text randomly to see how she was doing, he even took her and introduced her to his gang because he wanted her to have an honest opinion of them. 

 

“Betty? Back to Earth.” she heard Jughead say, Betty’s attention snapping up from her plate of food and up at him, “I asked if you were going to call Michael and let him know what happened.”

 

“So I can get yelled at for waking him up?” she asked as she looked at her cell phone for the time. 

 

“I meant tomorrow.”

 

“So I can get yelled at then for disrupting him?” 

 

“Betty.” Jughead said, Betty sighing and opening her drink, “What do you see in that guy? I know you’re not shallow  so it’s not the money. Is it the social status?” She let out a small laugh, taking a bite of her sandwich and washing it down with her drink.

 

“I make a lot of money with my photography, I don’t need his. And I could care less about the social status or all of the appearances I have to make. I hate doing them.” 

 

“Betty, why are you with him then?” he asked and she sighed, sitting her food down and leaning her head back against the back of the couch. 

 

“When I met Michael, he was worlds different than h e is now. He was fun and adventurous. We went on dates all the time, we traveled during summer and spring breaks, my parents loved him. I loved him, Jug. And then he proposed on graduation night and a week later he started working for his father’s real estate company. He slowly  began to change. The years went by and the colder he got, the more reserved he became. He started working longer hours, coming home extremely late and sometimes not at all. He said his father was handing him the company and he needed to start preparing for it and I needed to become the picture of perfection and I needed to make him look good, that he couldn’t afford to have me tarnish his image when we got married.” 

 

Jughead clenched his fist, his soda can crushing and Betty sighed softly as she looked at her hands folded in her lap. 

 

“I keep hanging on, hoping this storm will pass and the stress of transitioning to owner will pass and things will go back to the way they are. Maybe I’m stupid for having hope, stupid for hanging on and waiting for things to change back when in fact it’s been headed this route for years and I can’t hold on anymore.  I can’t convince myself anymore that I love him when that died a long time ago. I can’t convince myself to stay just to make my parents proud.  I’m tired, Jug. I am tired of feeling like this robot, this image of perfection and I’m not allowed to slip.  I want to feel happiness again. I want that loving connection with someone that I’ve been missing for years.  I just want to feel human again.” she said as  a tear slid down her cheek. 

 

“Betty...”Jughead whispered,  reaching over and taking her hand in his.

 

"I've been wanting to end things with him for a long time but I have no one back home. He's all I have and that's so scary." she said and wiped her tears off of her cheek, "Can we go to bed, Juggy? It's been a long day."

 

"Anything you want, Bets."

 


	8. Chapter 8

Betty was showered, dressed and walking out of the doors of the Five Seasons hotel by seven the next morning, her sunglasses shielding her eyes from the glare of the early morning sun. A slight shiver ran down her body as the cool morning air brushed against her bare legs, Betty pulling her light jacket tight around her boy. She reached up and fluffed her still damp hair, waving to the doorman as the valet service brought her SUV to the front of the hotel. After thanking him she placed a tip in his hand and slid behind the wheel, taking off towards her old neighborhood to meet Archie who offered to take her to go pick out new doors for the house. She turned the music up and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as she hummed to the song playing. Riverdale, in the early hours of morning and the late hours of the evening, was still a quiet, sleepy little town and it felt refreshing to Betty who was used to the hustle and bustle and constant go of New York.

 

A girl could get used to this. The only thing missing was a drive through Starbucks but it was something that wouldn’t phase her for long. If she had to give up convenient coffee for peace and happiness, well, she could live with that.

 

And her friends were here, new and old. They truly and genuinely loved her and wanted to spend time with her. Veronica had called her the night before asking if she wanted to go on a ladies night out the following night and Betty had quickly accepted. She had her outfit hanging in the back of her car zipped up in a garment bag, her high heels laying in the seat next to her, and her makeup bag tucked behind her seat.

 

Also, she could do her business from almost anywhere and still travel to New York for her high paying and upscale clients. Sure that would mean she would be in hotel rooms if she had to come to New York but she could handle that. Her business made enough money it didn’t bother her.

 

Her phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts as she turned onto Elm Street, placing it to her ear when she recognized the number that popped up.

 

“ _Betty? I have good news!”_ the voice on the other end exclaimed happily. 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, you’re here early.” Archie said said in surprise, pulling a t-shirt over his head as he led Betty into his kitchen, stretching and yawning loudly. 

 

“You said seven-thirty, remember?” Betty sat her purse on the kitchen island and hopped up onto a bar stool. 

 

“Oh yeah, I did, didn’t I.” Archie chuckled, taking an extra coffee mug out of the cabinet and holding it up in silent question. Betty smiled and nodded, thanking him as she pulled out her phone to check her emails.

 

“Oh, looks like Veronica officially booked me through my website for a photo shoot.” 

 

“I had a feeling that was coming.” he said with a smile as he turned the coffee pot on, “She adores you, Betty. She’s excited about your girl’s night tonight.” 

 

“I am too. It’s so nice to finally have friends, much less a female friend to go shopping and get pampered with.” 

 

“What about back in New York?” 

 

“No, sadly, everyone there I know is associated with Michael and since I’m so busy upholding a perfect image I don’t really get to go out and make friends.” she answered with a heavy sigh before confirming Veronica’s photo shoot date which was scheduled for just two days away, thankful that her time in Riverdale was mostly empty and available. 

 

“Hey, don’t look so sad.” he said as he sat her coffee mug down in front of her along with the creamer, Betty thanking him, “Here, bring your coffee and follow me. I got something that will cheer you up.” 

 

“Morning kids.” Fred greeted sleepily from the bottom of the stairs as they passed him, both of them saying hello in return as Archie led her up to his room. 

 

“Pretty pathetic a twenty-six year old still living with his dad, huh?” He said as he opened the door for her and she laughed, walking in and sitting down on the edge of his bed, “But I have a really good savings built up so I can buy my first home. And hopefully that will be soon.” 

 

“I got one next door you can take.” Archie laughed and shook his head as he walked to his bookshelf and pulled a stack of thin books off, walking over to sit next to her on the bed. 

 

“I don’t have that good of a savings.” he answered as Betty set her coffee mug on the desk next to the bed, picking up one of the books and smiling at the cover. 

 

“Oh my God, Arch, are these all yearbooks?” He nodded and smiled at her excitement, opening the first one and flipping to their kindergarten class picture where he, at some point in his childhood, had circled himself and Betty who were standing next to each other and wrote ‘Best Fiends’. 

 

“I struggled with spelling for a while.” Archie laughed when she teased him about his spelling error, Betty letting out a little squeal as she pointed out a small Jughead off to the side of the picture, a too big baseball cap on his head and a big grin that sported a missing front tooth. 

 

“What a little cutie.” she cooed, Archie flipping the page until he came across their individual pictures. 

 

“This was our last class picture together.” Archie said a while later as he picked up another yearbook and flipped to their class, pointing to a picture that he had circled. A small picture in the bottom corner of one of the pages, Betty, Jughead, and Archie, laying on their bellies in a circle on the grass drawing in a notebook together. A loose Polaroid slipped out of the book when Archie handed it to Betty and he picked it up, smiling back at the three faces squished together to fit in the closeup shot. 

 

“Oh Arch, can I make a copy of this?” Betty said as she leaned over to look at the picture, her eyes stinging slightly with happy tears as she read the handwritten caption on the bottom of the photo. 

 

_**Betty’s last day** _

_**June 15, 2002** _

_**Jughead, Betty, Archie at Pop’s** _

 

“That was on that Polaroid camera that Jughead used to take with him everywhere, wasn’t it?” Archie nodded and laughed as he handed her the photo, “We must have taken a dozen photos before Juggie got it right. And of course he has that iconic crown beanie on.”

 

“Who would have though Jughead took selfies before they were cool.” Archie said, both of them laughing as he pulled out his Sophomore yearbook, “This was Jughead’s last year at Riverdale High before he transferred to Southside High and became a Serpent.” He handed the book to Betty who flipped through the pictures, stopping on a picture of Jughead and two other students, Jughead sitting in a chair with his arm wrapped around an old typewriter that sat on a desk next to him. Another student, a young girl, was posed holding a camera and a young boy holding a stack of newspapers.

 

“The Blue and Gold. Juggie was on the school newspaper?” she asked with a smile, looking up at Archie and he nodded.

 

“He was really good too. You can probably find old articles online or at the library.”

 

“That’s really cool, I was on the school newspaper in high school and college, and I majored in journalism.”

 

“You and Jug would have made an amazing reporter team in high school.” Archie said just before his phone started ringing, “Hey man, what’s up? Yeah she’s here with me, we were looking at your old yearbook pictures.”

 

“ _Archie what the fuck!”_ she heard Jug shout from the other end, Archie biting his knuckle to keep from laughing into the phone, Betty putting a pillow to her face as she snorted in laughter.

 

“No, we’re gonna go pick the doors up now, we got carried away. Alright we’ll see you guys in a bit.” 

 

* * *

 

 

“The doors look amazing!” 

 

Jughead smiled at Betty’s excitement as she checked both doors, opening and closing each one a few times to test them out. Archie and Sweet Pea were carrying in trays of food from Pop’s, Betty’s treat and a thank you for helping them out,  and she was excusing herself to her old bedroom to get changed. Archie, Jughead, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni started digging through the bags of food, passing items out to everyone just as a knock sounded from the front door. 

 

“I got it.” Sweet Pea offered, jumping over the back of the couch and making his way to the front door, “Archie it’s for you! Hey, Veronica.” 

 

“Hi, Sweets! May I come in?” she asked, Sweet Pea standing to the side and Archie smiling as his girlfriend walked into the room. Her little black dress was strapless, hugging her torso tight and threatening to spill her cleavage out of the keyhole opening in the top. Long lace sleeves covered her arms, the tulle and satin bottom of her dress ending dangerously just past her rear end. 

 

“Ronnie, you look beautiful.” Archie said as he stood, walking over to her and tucking a raven wave behind her ear before giving her a soft kiss. 

 

“You’re so sweet, Archiekins.  Now, where’s my girl? Betty!” 

 

“Right here.” Betty called from the top of the stairs, all eyes turning to watch her descent. 

 

“Oh, Honey.” Toni said around a mouthful of burger, the food nearly spilling out her mouth as she leaned over and smacked Jughead’s arm. 

 

“What?” Jughead hissed and reluctantly tore his eyes away from Betty. 

 

“Either you claim her, or I will.” 

 

“Toni.”

 

“Do I look okay?” Betty asked sheepishly from the bottom of the steps, her face turning every shade of pink and red there possibly was. 

 

“Look out it’s Betty Bombshell!” Veronica squealed in delight, her heels tapping loudly against the hard wood as she hurried over to her best friend and pulled her into a hug, “Now do a full circle and let me see you from all angles.” Betty did as requested, showing off the dark magenta bodycon dress that Veronica had helped pick out for her during their shopping spree. The lower hem ended at her mid thighs, long legs jutting out from underneath that ended in a pair of strappy nude high heels. 

 

“You look-.”

 

“Fucking hot.” Toni cut off Jughead, Betty smiling and locking eyes with him and seeing his nod of approval. She reached up, fidgeting with a lock of hair thanking Toni for her compliment before Veronica excused herself to the restroom.

 

“Betty, can I talk to you real quick?” Archie asked, taking her wrist and leading her to the kitchen where it was quiet. 

 

“Everything okay?”

 

“I’m proposing to Ronnie.” 

 

“Oh my God, really?” she squeaked, Archie placing a finger to his lips as she covered her mouth with her hands. Her smile behind was ear to ear, Archie grinning and pulling the ring box out of his pocket to show her, “Oh that’s beautiful, she’s going to love it.”

 

“I want you and Jughead there to witness it but also, he’s going to film it and I was wondering, would you mind taking pictures of it?” 

 

“Of course I don’t mind, Arch. When?”

 

“Friday morning at Picken’s Park. It’s our ten year anniversary of dating and I’m finally going to ask her to marry me.”

 

“Oh, Archie, I’m so happy for you.” she whispered and pulled him into a hug. 

 

“Ready, Betty?” they heard Veronica ask from the top of the stairs, Archie reassuring her that they would clean up and lock up before they all left. 

 

“Coming!” Betty called, hurrying into the living room and stopping in front of the small group of Serpents, “You guys were life savers, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.”

 

“Betty, your phone.” Jughead said as he picked it up off of the couch, this device vibrating in his hand and the screen lighting up. He looked down out of habit and felt his jaw tense. 

 

** Michael: **

** I’m getting tired of this foolishness, Elizabeth **

 

“Thanks, Juggie.” she said quietly as she took the phone from him, sliding it into her little clutch purse and giving him a hug. 

 

“You’re welcome, Betts. Go have fun.” he whispered in her ear, “And if you feel up to it, drop by the Whyte Wyrm and come say hi to everyone. They’ve been asking about you.” 

 

“I’m sure I can make it before closing.” she answered with a grin and turned to leave with Veronica before a loud, hard knock startled them all. 

 

“Were we expecting someone else?” Toni asked from the couch, Betty walking towards the front door and opening it slowly. 

 

“Michael?” she asked in surprise as she felt an immediate knot tightening in her chest, the others in the room looking from one another. Jughead, Sweet Pea and Fangs stood and moved behind Betty protectively, the three of them crossing their arms with their switchblades hidden in their hands in case they were needed. The man at the door smiled slowly, his eyes narrowed as his gaze bore into Betty’s. Jughead saw her body tense, her hand that held her purse shaking as she stood paralyzed in the doorway. 

 

“Hello, Elizabeth.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading and subscribing and reviewing to let me know what they think! It means the world and you guys keep me inspired! So if you don't mind, leave me a comment on thoughts, opinions, anything at all! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you guys!


	9. Chapter 9

“ _I’ll see you when you get back to your room.” Michael said, his eyes scanning the room full of people watching them. His gaze moved straight to Jughead who narrowed his in return, his fist clenching around the cold switchblade. Michael straightened the sleeves to his dark blue button up shirt, a wicked smile on his face as he took Betty’s chin in his hand and quickly jerked her head up to look at him, his hand moving to cup her entire jaw._

 

“ _You bastard.” Sweet Pea snarled as he stepped forward, Jughead and Fangs grabbing a hold of his jacket and keeping him in place._

 

“ _Hold on.” Jughead warned quietly, his eyes never leaving the man at the doorway. He was tall, Betty just coming up to his chin in high heels and his shirt was tight over his muscled torso. Jughead glanced at Betty who was absolutely frozen in place, her skin paled and her hands still shaking._

 

“ _What are you gonna do, gang banger?” Michael sneered in Sweet Pea’s direction and smiled when he tried to break free of Jughead and Fangs to go after him._

 

“ _Michael.” Betty said calmly, reaching up and placing a hand on his chest, “Please. Let’s just go to the hotel, I’ll get my car and follow you. Have you already booked a room?”_

_  
“No, Elizabeth, I’ll be staying with you.” She nodded hesitantly, Michael walking out of the house and Betty turning to look at her friends. Her face was red with embarrassment and she cleared her throat as she looked over at Veronica._

 

“ _Ronnie, do you mind if we postpone our girl’s night?” She asked and clutched her purse in both hands, her voice shaking as she willed herself not to cry._

 

“ _It’s fine, Betty, I understand.” Ronnie answered her softly and Betty nodded, avoiding Jughead’s gaze as she turned to leave._

 

“ _Betty, wait.” Jughead stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, Betty stopping in her tracks and turning to look at him, “Betty, you don’t have to.”_

 

“ _I do, Juggie. I really do.” she said quietly, her eyes shining with tears that she tried to hold back, “Thank you guys for everything you did for me, and everything you’ve done. I appreciate you all more than you know, and I’m so grateful I got to have you wonderful people in my life.”_

 

“ _Betty...” Jughead pleaded and she inhaled deeply, forcing a smile on her face as she turned to Archie._

 

“ _Arch, if you don’t mind putting the key back in the planter.”_

 

“ _Of course.” he answered quietly and she turned her attention back to Jughead._

 

“ _Goodbye, everyone.” With that she reached up and placed her hand on the one he had on her shoulder, giving it a firm and comforting squeeze, “Goodbye, Juggie. Thank you.” Before he could say anything she turned and stepped out the door, pulling her keys out of her purse and making her way to her car._

 

Betty wiped her tears in the elevator as she thought back to her goodbyes and the look of worry and sadness on Jughead’s face when she turned to walk away. She looked up through blurry, watery eyes and felt the dread as the numbers climbed higher and higher to her floor. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to check.

 

_**Jughead Jones:** _

_**Betts, call me or text me when the coast is clear.** _

_**Please, I’m worried about you** _

 

The doors opened and Betty’s head snapped up when a shadow fell over her, quickly hitting delete and putting her phone back into her purse.

 

“There you are, Elizabeth. I thought I was going to have to continue looking for you.”

 

“How did you know where I was staying?” she asked as she stepped out of the elevator and he placed his arm around her, leading her towards her room.

  
“I have my connections.” he answered and stopped at their door, taking a copy of her key card out of his pocket and sliding it through the reader. It granted them access and he led her into the room, locking the door and dropping his car keys on the counter.

 

“How was your drive?” she asked him softly, Michael turning her around and she flinched as he brought his hand up. He placed it under her chin and tilted her head up, kissing her lips softly and backing her against the counter.

 

“It was long, and the whole way I was furious that you made me come out here to make sure you were doing what needed to be done to sell that damn house.” His voice was low and cold, Betty frowning and hanging her head.

 

_I didn’t ask you to come out here at all_

 

“I’m sorry.” she whispered and he turned her around, slowly unzipping her dress and unhooking the halter neck before pushing it down and letting it fall to her feet.

 

“Bedroom. Now.” he demanded and Betty nodded in obedience, slipping out of her shoes and kicking them and the dress to the side. She walked through the dimly lit suite and into the bedroom, her stomach churning as she heard the doors shut and lock behind her.

* * *

 

 

Betty lay looking at the ceiling, closing her eyes and choking back sobs as she tried to move her aching body. She hated giving in to him, especially when he was mad. It wasn’t loving like it used to be. No, instead it was mechanical, unenjoyable to her and always left her without being finished. And if he was mad at her? Well, all she had to do was look at the bruises on her wrists and arms that were forming as he rinsed off in the shower. She reached over and picked her phone up, scrolling through her contacts and finding Jughead’s name. She stood, grabbing her robe and slipping out into the living room of the suite and placed the phone to her ear.

 

“ _Betty? Are you okay?”_

 

“I’m okay, Jug, I promise.” she answered as she listened to make sure the water hadn’t shut off, “I just wanted you to know.”

 

“ _Was that a goodbye for good?”_ His voice was soft and calming, but Betty could hear fear lacing the edge. 

 

“I really hope not.” 

 

“ _I hope not either, Betts.”_ The water in the bathroom shut off and Betty cupped her hand over her mouth as she heard the shower curtain slide across the rod. 

 

“I have to go. I’ll get a hold of you as soon as I can.” She didn’t get a chance to hear his goodbye as she hung up and shoved her phone in the pocket of the robe. 

 

“There you are. I was wondering where you had disappeared off to.” Michael said as he emerged from the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. 

 

“Sorry, I was coming out to get a drink and checking my emails. I have a photoshoot planned for Friday.” she answered as she made her way to the kitchenette.

 

“You need to sell that house instead of worry about silly pictures.” 

 

“My realtor will be doing walkthroughs that day so I won’t be able to be at the house. Perfect timing and it’s my livelihood.” she said and Michael sighed, running his fingers through his short chestnut hair and following her. 

 

“Well it will end once we wed. It’s a waste of time. I’m just ready for you to come back.” he grumbled and she nodded as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, “Let’s go to bed. I have a full schedule of conference calls tomorrow so I need the sleep.” 

* * *

 

 

“Wow. You look like complete shit.” Toni observed as she took a bite out of a piece of bacon, Jughead shooting her a glare as he slid in next to her in the booth. A waitress who was used to them being there every morning stopped with a cup of fresh black coffee and set it down in front of Jughead who thanked her. 

 

“I couldn’t fucking sleep for shit.” he grumbled as he laid his head on the table, Toni flicking his beanie off and ruffling his hair. 

 

“It’ll be okay, Jug. We can take him out.” 

 

“We’re not hitmen, Fangs.” Jughead said against the cold tabletop. 

 

“Okay so he has an ‘accident’ in Fox Forest.” Sweet Pea suggested, “Or caught up in a drug deal gone wrong.” 

 

“You really want Betty to hate us? He may be a shit person but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t agree with murder.” Jughead said as he looked up at them, the two shrugging in response and Toni pinching the area between her eyes. 

 

“Don’t listen to those two idiots. Jughead you just have to hope she makes the right decision to stay.” 

 

A stack of pancakes was set in front of Jughead along with a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs and a few sausage links, his mouth watering as the smells hit him. He dug in as Sweet Pea and Fangs started their own conversation of different ways they could take out Michael and Toni rolled her eyes in annoyance but still paid attention, eventually giving her opinion on each scenario. Jughead felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

 

_**Betts:** _

_**So I’m looking through some old Blue and Gold** _

_**articles you wrote. They’re very good and the** _

_**library has a ton up where all of the old** _

_**yearbooks are. I think I’ll be here** _

_**for a few hours trying to read them all.** _

 

“Jughead where are you going?” Toni asked as he hopped up all of a sudden, handing his money to the waitress as she walked by and waving to them.

 

“Library.”

 

“You didn’t even finish your food.” Sweet Pea called after but he was already out the door and walking quickly to his motorcycle. It didn’t take him long to get to the library and he nodded to the librarian as he walked towards the back where he took the stairs two at a time to get where Betty was hiding. He entered the room that hadn’t seen daylight or people in years, looking down each aisle of town historical books and public records, each shelf having a thick layer of dust on them. He found her, her back to him as she flipped through a binder that had laminated pages of an old school newspaper. She had a little black hoodie on over a pair of old capris, her foot sliding in and out of a pair of flip flops as she read the article he assumed was one of his.

 

“Betty?”

 

She turned at the sound of her name and smiled back at him. Her hair lay loose out of her ponytail, falling over her shoulders and framing her face.

 

“You got my message.” she whispered as she sat the binder down on a stack of books, Jughead sliding his beanie off of his head as his eyes never left hers. Betty stepped towards him and he reached for her, letting his hands slide up into her hair as she cupped his face and their lips came crashing together.

 

Relief flooded through his body as he held her to him and backed her gently into one of the bookshelves, Betty’s fingers moving to his hair and letting her nails scratch along his scalp. He slid his tongue against her lips and she complied, opening her mouth and granting him entrance. He moved his tongue against hers, summoning a small moan from the back of her throat.

 

“This was so worth skipping breakfast.” he whispered against her lips and she laughed softly, closing the gap again and pulling his body firmly against hers.

 

“I’m sorry, I know that was so sudden, but I just, I had to.” she muttered as she tried to catch her breath and he rested his forehead against hers, “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now and I couldn’t hold it back anymore.”

 

“You and me both.” he answered as she gripped his jacket to hold him close to her. He ran a hand down her face, tracing her jaw with the back of his finger before tilting her head up to claim her lips again in a more gentle, less heated kiss. She reached into her pocket as her phone started ringing and turned her head to look at the caller ID. Jughead took the opportunity and moved his mouth along her jaw and to her ear, nipping her ear lobe as she answered the call.

 

“Hello, Michael.” She felt Jughead tense and his lips move away, Betty poking her bottom lip out in a pout as he looked down at her, “I’m at the Library just looking around but I can meet you there in about ten minutes. I’ll be there right away.” She hung up and slid the phone back in her pocket, moving to her tip toes and pulling Jughead back down to her.

 

“I thought you had to go?” he managed to get out between kisses, Betty pulling back and shrugging.

 

“He got an opening between conference calls and wants to get brunch and it will only take me about five minutes to get to the cafe.” With that Jughead smiled and pulled her back to him, feeling like two teenagers in the heat of the moment, hiding in the most secluded part of the library as the worries of the world disappeared if only for a passionate moment.


	10. Chapter 10

“Fall’s coming fast.” Jughead said as they were walking slowly through Pickens Park, Betty messing with the camera that hung around her neck. Jughead carried her tripod she was loaning him in one hand and his video camera in the other with a duffle bag slung over his back.

 

“I forgot how gorgeous it was here. Being surrounded by Eversgreen and Fox forests, it’s like a Bob Ross painting come to life.” Jughead smiled over at Betty as they approached the clearing overlooking Sweetwater River that Archie had pointed out, “This is so pretty! I can’t wait! Do you know when they are going to be here?”

 

“He sent me a text about twenty minutes ago and they were wrapping up breakfast at her favorite cafe, so it shouldn’t be much longer. I guess we should find a hiding spot and get set up.” She followed him to a cluster of bushes that would be thick enough to hide them from view and held his camera as he set the tripod up, then went and stood in the clearing so Jughead could get the camera in focus before they showed up.

 

“Alright bring me the bag!” Betty called and he hurried to her, opening the duffle bag and helping her scatter the red and pink rose petals all over the ground. They made sure to leave an empty space where Archie and Veronica would be standing and Jughead took her hand, pulling her behind the bushes as Archie’s truck pulled into the parking lot.

 

“Ready?” Betty turned her head at Jug’s question as she took her lens cap off and smiled, blushing at his wink as they heard Veronica chatting with Archie. She scooted further into the bush and found a small opening devoid of leaves, just big enough for her lens to fit through as Jughead began recording.

 

“Archiekins, look at the rose petals!” Veronica said in awe as he turned to look at her, walking backwards and leading her to the little bare spot, “What’s going on?” He stopped, taking both of her hands in his and Jughead smiled as he heard Betty’s camera going to work.

 

“Veronica,” Archie began, Jughead thankful that they were close enough that he would be able to get the audio clearly, “I never thought that when I met you ten years ago at Pop’s we’d be here today still going strong, still just as crazy in love as ever. It’s been a wild ride, Ronnie, and I wouldn’t want to go back and change it. You have made me into a stronger person, a better person, and all I’ve been able to think about is a future with you.”

 

“Oh, Archie.” Veronica whispered as he let her hands go, hers moving to cover her mouth as she sniffled and blinked back tears. She let out a happy sob as he reached into the pocket of his black dress pants and pulled out the ring box and opened it, moving to his knee and taking her hand in his. Betty’s camera clicked rapidly.

 

“Veronica Lodge, will you make me the happiest man in Riverdale, on Earth, and marry me?”

 

“Yes!” she choked out through a happy sob, Archie standing and scooping her up in his arms. She grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him firmly, Betty and Jughead looking at one another and smiling. She got a few pictures of Archie sliding the ring on before they made their presence known, Veronica running to Betty and throwing her arms around her.

 

“Oh V, I’m so happy for you.”

 

 

Betty was able to get a few close up shots of the ring, some obligatory kissing photos with Veronica holding her hand up to show off the ring, and a few pictures of them kissing, embracing, or cuddled up together with the river in the background.

 

“I’ll walk you to your car while they have some alone time together to soak up the bliss.” Jughead offered and Betty thanked him, both of them looking back at the newly engaged couple before walking towards the parking lot.

 

“I’m so happy Archie asked me to come this morning.” Betty said as she was packing her camera away in the well used and worn out camera bag, closing her trunk and turning to face Jughead.

 

“It was a special moment.” he answered as he secured his video camera in one of the saddle bags on his bike that he had parked next to Betty, standing straight and tightening the long sleeved flannel shirt he had tied around his waist. He heard Betty’s phone vibrate and watched as she read through the text, her face falling and she rubbed her forehead.

 

“Michael?”

 

“Yeah. We have a lunch date.” she said softly and slid her phone back in her pocket, refusing to look up and make eye contact with Jughead.

 

“Betts?” he asked and heard her sniffle at the sound of her nickname, “Betty, what’s wrong?”

 

“This is my last day here, Juggie.” she answered and he cupped her face, tilting her head up to look at her, “I’m so sorry.”

 

“Wait, what are you talking about?” His eyes widened in alarm and Betty reached up to grip his leather jacket.

 

“Michael said yesterday at dinner that we were packing up and heading back to New York this evening and that I could sell the house from there and come back long enough to sign the paperwork.” She was sobbing now and Jughead pulled her against him, kissing the top of her head as he ran his hand up and down her back, “I don’t want to go back but I’m so afraid of telling him no.”

 

“Oh, Betty.” he sighed, tilting her head back and quieting her sobs with his lips, “We’ll think of something, I swear. Even if my guys and I have to come up there and get you, we _will_ think of something.”

 

“I’m gonna miss you so bad, Jughead Jones.” she whispered as she rested her hands on the back of his neck.

 

“I’m gonna miss you too, Betty Cooper.” With that he gave her one more kiss, backing her against the car and wrapping her up in his arms. If he could freeze this moment in time he would, where she was right here in his arms and safe from whatever unknown danger that shadowed Michael.

* * *

 

“How was your photoshoot this morning?” Michael asked as he cut into his grilled chicken, Betty pushing her salad greens around on her plate and taking a small bite.

 

“It went well. I need to sort through them and finish them up so I can send them out.” she answered softly as she sat her fork down and looked outside the window at Riverdale.

 

She didn’t want to leave. For the first time, in a very long time, she felt like she belonged somewhere. She could feel the roots of her past taking firm hold of her and she didn’t mind. She didn’t want them letting go.

 

“I’m so ready to get us back home, I hate this insufferable town. I see why your mom sent you to live with relatives. You’d be an absolute nothing if you stayed, not that a photographer is much better. At least it’s something, even if it’s embarrassing.”

 

Archie’s faced flashed through her head, then Veronica, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni, and….Jughead. Oh, Jughead Jones. She reached up and lightly touched her lips where she could still feel the ghost of his kiss and tears pricked at her eyes.

 

“I have a lot to do when we get back so we can’t stay here and wait for that house to sell.”

 

_No…_

 

She felt the ball of anxiety in her chest expand to the pit of her stomach, her heart racing and she’d rather die then face his anger and wrath. She swallowed hard and knotted her hands in her lap, feeling her nails pressing into the palms of her hands as they shook. She was afraid to do this.

 

But she couldn’t put it off any longer.

 

“We’ll pack and head out as soon we finish here.”

 

“I can’t.” she said, her voice cracked as she turned to look at him. His dark eyes looked up at her and narrowed, Michael setting his silverware down quietly. His fingers threaded together and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and resting his mouth on his hands.

 

“What do you mean, _you can’t_?” His voice was almost a snarl and dangerously quiet.

 

_Please God let a public setting stop him._

 

“I can’t...I won’t leave Riverdale. This is my home, this is where I belong. I am finding myself here and I can’t go back to New York, Michael. I won’t. I have friends here, I have...I have a future here and I have happiness here. I can’t continue being perfect for you and the press. I won’t do it anymore.”

 

“You’re making a grave mistake, Elizabeth.”

 

She swallowed hard as she reached down and gripped the edge of the chair, tears breaking free and rolling down her cheeks as his ice cold glare never left her.

 

“Do you want to rethink this insane decision?”

* * *

 

“So she’s gone? Just like that?” Toni asked as she poured Jughead a glass of Jack Daniels and pushed it to him, Sweet Pea and Fangs taking shots and sitting on bar stools on either side of him.

 

“So let’s go get her!” Fangs said and Sweet Pea agreed, Jughead shaking his head before downing the glass, the amber liquid burning in his throat the whole way down.

 

“I want to wait until we can locate Black Hat and dig up more dirt on this guy before we go in there completely unprepared. We don’t know much of anything about this guy.”

 

“I’ll get a hold of Bloodhound for you, see if I can speed up his tracking.” Toni offered as Jughead held his glass out, Toni taking the hint and filling the glass again.

 

“You know,” he said and downed the second glass, “She was a really fucking good kisser.”

 

“Alright, Jones.” Sweet Pea said and smacked him on the back, Toni glancing behind Jughead towards the door to the bar, then back down at him.

 

“Oh yeah? Well, I wouldn’t live in the past for very long.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Turn the hell around, Jughead.” Toni ordered. He looked back over his shoulder, doing a double take as the group of Serpents hanging by the door moved out of the way and Betty stood at the entrance to the packed bar, her eyes looking for him in the crowd.

 

“Betty!” he called over the music, the blonde’s attention snapping to the bar and her face lighting up as she saw him. He pushed out of his seat and she hurried to him, Jughead taking her into his arms and the force of their impact spinning them and nearly knocking him over, “How? I thought you were leaving!”

 

“I did it, Jughead. I told him no. I told him I was staying, I did it!” she shouted through happy sobs, Sweet Pea and Fangs rushing over to them and taking their turn hugging her.

 

“You’re here! Jug said you were leaving.”

 

“I’m free!” With that she held up her empty hand, Toni walking over with a glass of Snake Bite for Betty and two tequila shots on a tray, two pool cues in the other hand.

 

“Sweets, I think it’s time for a rematch.” Betty smiled and she and Sweet Pea downed the shots, both of them taking the pool cues and Betty grabbing her drink. Before she could walk to the pool table Jughead grabbed her around the waist with one hand, pulling her into a firm kiss and feeling her smile against him.

 

“I’m so glad you’re here. Now go have fun, I’ll be right here if you need me.”

* * *

 

“Bar’s closed!” Jughead’s voice boomed over the loud crowd, people groaning and starting to stumble out of the bar. Toni stood at the door with her fishbowl taking keys from Serpents who were too intoxicated to drive home, most of them walking and some climbing into taxis or Uber’s that were already waiting outside. When the last one filed out he waved goodbye to Toni and she grabbed her messenger bag, walking outside and Jughead locking the door after her. He turned to see Betty sitting on one of the pool tables, her legs crossed as she watched him move towards her.

 

“Glad you’re not drunk tonight.” he said with a smirk as he stood in front of her and placed his hands on her legs, Betty uncrossing them and spreading them. She took hold of his jacket and pulled him to stand between them, Jughead sliding his arms around her and burying his face in her neck.

 

“I wanted to enjoy and remember my first night of freedom in eight years.” she whispered softly and tilted her head to the side as Jughead slowly kissed the tender skin up to her ear, nipping her earlobe before peppering kisses along her jawline. She turned her head and captured his lips, moving her hands to tangle her fingers in his hair as his hands slid up her back underneath his shirt. His mouth moved with hers in a deep, heated kiss, his tongue gaining entrance and sliding against hers. She moaned softly and wrapped her legs around his waist, her body feeling like fire and her head spinning as the kiss broke.

 

“Take me home, Juggie.” she whispered softly as they both panted for breath, Jug smiling and nipping her bottom lip.

 

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews and all of your support. Keep your eyes peeled, the next update will warrant the Explicit rating! So let me know what you all think, and I hope you enjoyed! You guys are the reason I keep going and it's so amazing knowing people are reading and enjoying!


	11. Chapter 11

_Betty jumped as his fist slammed down on the table, glasses and plates rattling as the other patrons in the restaurant halted their conversations and drew their eyes to the couple. She swallowed hard as she dug her nails into the palms of her hands._

 

“ _Elizabeth Diane Cooper, I highly suggest you rethink this decision.” he warned coldly, the other patrons returning to their previous conversation._

 

‘ _Maybe you aren’t as truly happy as you make yourself believe’ she heard Veronica’s words echo in her head, forcing herself to sit up straighter and squaring off her shoulders._

 

‘ _Even if my guys and I have to come up there and get you, we’ll think of something’ Jughead had whispered softly against her lips._

 

“ _I’m not rethinking it. I’ve made my decision, Michael.”_

 

Betty sighed as Jughead pushed her up against the front door, his lips and teeth assaulting the tender skin of her neck, her hands fisting into his hair to hold him there. He placed his hands on her hips and pressed his body to hers, letting out a groan as she wiggled her pelvis against his growing erection.

 

“Unless you wanna give the whole trailer park a show you gotta let me get my keys.” he whispered against the hollow of her throat. She nodded and Jughead pulled back long enough to dig his keys out of his pocket, Betty’s hands finding his stomach as she pressed her lips to his in another hungry kiss. Her fingers slid under his t-shirt and started trailing up his toned stomach, Jughead shivering at her touch before grabbing her ass and lifting her up. He smiled when her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

 

“Yeah, get it!” they heard a very drunk Sweet Pea call from the main road of the trailer park where he and Fangs were stumbling to Sweet Pea’s trailer with more alcohol in tow. Jughead laughed and braced Betty against the door, flipping the two off who started cackling drunkenly before pushing the door open and stepping inside. He kicked it closed, Betty’s lips back on his and her fingers running through his thick black hair.

 

“God, you’re so beautiful, Betts.”

 

“ _You’re going to regret this when we go back to the hotel.” he warned and Betty’s temper flared, her jaw set as she stood._

 

“ _No, I don’t think I will.” Her adrenaline was rushing through her, Betty feeling unstoppable as this newfound courage surfaced. Where was this coming from all of a sudden?_

 

“ _Excuse me?”_

 

“ _I won’t regret this and I’m not coming back to the hotel with you, Michael. You’re going to pay for this meal I have had to suffer here with you and then you are going to leave and collect your things. I will be notifying hotel security that you are to be leaving the hotel and not returning and IF I have to have my ‘gang banging’ friends escort you off the premises and out of Riverdale then so be it.”_

 

_Her friends. That’s where her strength, her bravery, was coming from. Because she had her friends, and a whole gang of bikers, who had her back. And she just knew that Jughead would love for himself and his Serpents to make sure Michael got the hell out of town._

 

“ _Elizabeth.” he growled as he stood, reaching across the table and taking firm hold of her shirt, jerking her towards him as customers gasped. She wanted to turn away, to brace for the impact but her eyes held his, unwavering and unchanging from the anger that had been simmering for years and was now starting to boil over._

 

“ _Get your hands off me.” she warned coldly, a few of the servers and some of the men sitting in the restaurant jumping to her defense to pull Michael off of her, one of them threatening a call to the Sheriff._

 

Their hands were moving frantically to rid each other of their clothes, Betty laughing as Jughead nearly tripped trying to get his pants off and caused them both to tumble back onto the bed. He finished kicking them off, sitting up on his knees and shrugging out of his shirt. Betty reached down and pulled his body against hers. She had lost her thin pink sweater at the door of the bedroom, her shorts laying in a pile with his pants at the foot of the bed.

 

Jughead supported himself on his elbows as he looked down at Betty, the light from the old lamp on his nightstand bathing her skin in a soft, warm glow. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, cupping her cheek as he smiled at her.

  
“What is it, Juggie?” she whispered, the corners of her mouth pulling into a smile, a pink tint spreading across her cheeks as he studied her face.

 

“I just can’t believe you’re here in my bed with me. I thought I had lost you to New York.” he whispered, Betty placing her hands on his face and bringing her head up for a quick, soft kiss.

 

“I belong here, Juggie.” He dipped his head down and brushed the tip of his nose against hers before nipping her bottom lip, soothing it with a kiss before his lips trailed back to her neck. Kiss by burning kiss he worked his way down to her collar bone, then to the top curve of her breasts and she reached underneath herself to free the clasp. He took the white satin between his teeth and pulled it off of her slowly, giving her a wink as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He tossed the bra off the side of the bed and ran a hand up her side before cupping her breast, Betty laying her head back on his pillow and closing her eyes as she focused on his attention to her.

 

Jughead cupped one of her breasts in his hands and ran the pad of his thumb along her nipple, grinning to himself as he heard a small hitch in her breath.

 

“You’re perfect, Betty Cooper.” he whispered as he glanced up towards her face and saw her grin spreading, her hand coming up and resting on the back of his head. He flicked his tongue out and let it brush against the very tip of her nipple, hearing a soft whimper from her before he took it in his mouth. His tongue moved lazy circles around it, his teeth nipping it softly as he took her other breast in hand and rolled the nipple between his fingers. Her back arched, pushing her breasts into his grasp even more and her fingers tightened in his hair. His hand traveled down her flat belly and to the white cotton panties on her hips, his fingers flirting with the top hem and he raised his head. She moved to her elbows and locked her gaze with his. Her tongue slid slowly across her bottom lip and he felt his erection twitch at the sight of her. Her hair was already tousled, her face dusted pink and her breasts moving with each breath she took.

 

“Touch me, please Jug.” she whispered before his mouth came to hers and his hand slid under the hem, his fingers met with warm moisture as her legs spread wider. He teased her slick folds before letting a digit slip between them and finding the little bundle nerves that sent her gasping and mewling against his lips. With one elbow propping her up on the bed she wrapped her other arm around his neck, bucking her hips as he slowly rubbed her now throbbing clit. He slid his tongue along hers as he moved his hand down and slowly slid a finger inside of her.

 

“M-more.” she begged, her voice barely a whisper, her breath shaky and her hips bucking to meet his hand.

 

“I’m just getting started, Love.” He murmured against her lips as he slid a second finger inside and curled them up, Betty letting a small sob for air out as her arm tightened around the back of his neck, “Lie back, relax, and let me take care of you.” Her arm slowly slid away from him as she did what he said, Jughead swallowing hard at the image of her golden hair splayed wildly around her angelic face on his own pillow.

 

He was a lucky son of a bitch.

 

He moved down her body as he slid his fingers out of her (not without her protest) and hooked them into the sides of her panties, sliding them down her long legs and dropping them off the end of the bed. He took one of her feet in his hands and began massaging the bottom of it, Betty releasing a satisfied moan and he smiled against the skin of her ankle as he placed a tender kiss on it. He rested his hands on her knees and parted her legs, revealing her soaking wet core to his hungry gaze.

 

“Have I told you yet how beautiful you are?” She giggled as she looked down her body at him, watching him settling himself between her legs and sliding his hands under her thighs and gripping her hips.

 

“A few times.” she whispered in return as he kissed the inside of her thigh.

 

“You should be told it everyday, multiple times a day because it’s true and you deserve to hear it.” With that statement he lowered his head and held her hips tightly as his tongue ran slowly up her folds. He heard her gasp and felt her hips roll as her back arched towards him. He licked her slowly again, this time settling his mouth on her clit and sucking it gently into his mouth as he flicked it with the tip of his tongue.

 

“Juggie...oh God...” she whimpered as she gripped the pillow with one hand, digging her nails into the comforter with the other as her eyes rolled back into her head. He moved one hand from her hip and spread her wider, flattening his tongue against her and bringing it up slowly until he made it to her clit again.

 

“Feel good, baby?” he whispered, his warm breath tickling her skin.

 

“Y-yes...please...don’t stop, Juggie...” she begged, a flick of his tongue forcing another moan out of the back of her throat.

 

“As you wish.” He snaked his tongue inside of her and Betty felt as if she was going to come undone at that very second, her hand shooting down and tangling in his hair. As he brought his tongue back up he slid his finger in to her to replace it’s absence and settled his tongue back over her aching clit, adding a second finger and smiling against her wetness as she rolled her hips towards him again.

 

Betty tightened her grip in his hair as he continued his slow assault with his tongue on her womanhood. Part of her wanted to scream out and beg him to speed up as she could feel her release building. But the majority of her was enjoying him taking his time and making sure she was thoroughly satisfied. Her breathing was becoming shallow and rapid as the wave was growing, his hand on her hip tightening as he tried to hold her still when she arched her back. With eyes screwed shut and nails dug into the bedding and his hair his name burst from her lips, her legs holding his head in place as the tidal wave finally came crashing down and her orgasm shaking her body to it’s very core. His hand slipped out of her and grabbed her hips firmly as he lapped her up, Betty whimpering and gasping as she slowly came down from her high. She looked down at him as he kissed the inside of her thigh and looked up her body, his tongue slowly running across his bottom lip before he gave her a devilish smile. He slowly moved back up her body and reminded Betty of a predator getting ready to leap at it’s prey and devour them. Her hands came up and ran along his shoulders then down his back, biting her bottom lip as her hands felt warm skin pulled tight over lean muscle. He lowered his body against hers and pressed his lips to hers. Betty moaned softly as she tasted her tangy sweetness on his mouth, her lips parting and welcoming his probing tongue.

 

“Boxers off.” she whispered against his mouth as she slid a hand down between them and ran her fingers along his length through the thin fabric. Jughead moved to his knees and Betty sat up, placing her hands over his when he reached for the top hem of his boxers.

 

“Let me.” she whispered and he let his hands fall to his sides, Betty curling her fingers inside the top and sliding them down his legs. With her gaze locked on his she reached up and wrapped her fingers around him, a hitch in his breath making her smile and she started slowly pumping her hand up and down. He gripped her shoulders and sucked in a sharp breath at her firm grasp.

 

“Jesus, Betts...” he groaned and saw her cheeks burn before she finally moved her gaze down to his erection, leaning forward and flicking her tongue across his tip before wrapping her lips around him and pulling him deeper. His moan was throaty, his hands squeezing her shoulders and his head falling back as she took him in as far as she could and let the tip of her tongue tease his length on her way back up. He knew he wouldn’t last long if he let her continue and he really, really wanted to give her everything he could tonight.

 

“Betts...you gotta stop, baby.” he reluctantly said, Betty pulling back and looking up at him with a small frown.

 

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, her voice tinged with sadness and he shook his head.

 

“No, Betty, no you did everything right, trust me.” he whispered and lowered himself to her, using his body to gently push her back on the bed, “Any other time you want to do that I promise I won’t stop you. But I want to be at top performance for you tonight and if you keep going I’ll be down and out quick. You have a very talented mouth.” She let out an airy laugh and placed her hands on his cheeks, Jughead giving her a soft and quick kiss before reaching into the drawer of his nightstand and producing a foil packet.

 

“At least let me do the honors.” she whispered and took the condom from him, ripping it open and sliding it on for him. He shivered at her gentle touch, kneeing her legs open and settling himself between them. He looked into her emerald eyes and as he lowered his head and kissed her lips he slid himself into her, Betty gasping against his lips and immediately wrapping her legs around his waist to hold him to her.

 

“Feel good?” he murmured and she nodded. Jughead smirked and returned his lips for a heated kiss as he began to thrust slowly and pushed in deeply. She was warm, slick, tight, and her inner walls worked against him as he rocked his body with hers. She wrapped her arms around him and her hands flattened against his back, feeling the muscles tense and relax. He moved his lips to kiss along the ridge of her shoulder and worked his way to her neck. She moved one hand up his back, her nails dragging along his skin and stopping in his hair to tangle her fingers in it.

 

“Juggie.” she whispered as she turned her head, placing her lips against his ear, “Faster, please, fuck me faster.” At her request she dug her nails on her other hand in his back as she took his earlobe between her teeth for a quick nip. Jughead groaned into her neck, one hand moving to the headboard to brace himself as his thrusts quickened, Betty throwing her head back and tightening her grip on him. Her moans mixed in with the slapping of skin and the headboard beating against the trailer wall, Jughead grunting into her neck as his hips slammed hard and fast against her.

 

Betty could feel that same welcoming pressure again, that same ripple that was building into a tidal wave and she buried her face in his shoulder.

 

Jughead could hear her rapid breathing, could feel her muscles working against and could hear the whimpers and moans into his shoulder.

 

“You close, baby?” he whispered and felt her nod.

 

_Oh thank God._ He thought as he had been trying to fight off his own climax  to make sure he could finish her first. She deserved it. He quickened his thrusts more, the bed sounding as if it was going to go through the wall at this point and Jughead prayed the old bed frame would hold up. 

 

Her body stiffened, her limbs holding him tight and her inner muscles squeezing and clamping down as she came, hard. She bit down on his shoulder as she cried out, her nails digging into his back. Jughead was able to ride out her orgasm for a few more thrusts before she finally milked his out of him and he stilled, moaning into her neck and holding her body close to his. 

 

“Jesus, Betts.” he panted, collapsing on the bed next to her and wrapping her up in his arms. She flung a leg over his and laid her arm across his stomach as Jughead kissed the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair and smiling as she tilted her head to look up at him. Her eyes stopped on his chest and in the dim light of the lamp she touched an old scar before noticing more that peppered across his chest and down his stomach. 

 

“Initiation, breaking up bar fights, run ins with ghoulies, street fights with cocky Northsiders. Typical gang stuff.” he whispered softly at her unasked question before he narrowed his eyes and grabbed her hand, lifting her arm up and bringing it closer to the lamp, “Did I hurt you?” he asked in horror as he saw the bruises on her wrists, his eyes trailing up her arms to see some near her shoulders too. He sat up and looked at her with wide and panicked eyes, grabbing her other hand as she moved to her knees to inspect it. She cupped his face in her hands and turned his attention to her. 

 

“No, Juggie, no you didn’t hurt me. Those were, uh, those were from the other night.”

 

“Michael?” he asked, his jaw set firmly as he narrowed his eyes, “I’ll fucking kill him.” 

 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, Jug, he’s gone. Don’t let what we can’t go back and change ruin tonight.” she whispered and moved closer to him, kissing him and laying him back on the bed, “I’m safe now.” His phone started vibrating somewhere on the floor and he waved it off as he pulled the blanket over them, reaching over and shutting off the lamp. 

 

“Probably just a drunk Sweet Pea or Fangs and they heard the headboard.” he teased, Betty smiling as she settled down, tucked against him and resting her head on his chest, “Get some sleep, Betts. It’s been a rollercoaster of a day.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me a few days to get up, I rewrote it a few times because it just was not flowing the way I wanted. I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

The early morning sun filtered through the old, faded blinds and Jughead groaned as he tried to turn away from the light. A weight on his chest made him open his eyes and he smiled as he looked down to see Betty’s head resting there, her arm and leg draped over him. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a firm squeeze, kissing the top of her head and closing his eyes as he inhaled her scent.

 

She was here. She was really here and last night hadn’t been some crazy drunken wet dream.

 

As much as he wanted to lie there with her wrapped up in his arms, his bladder was screaming for release and his stomach felt as if it was going to digest itself from starvation. He slowly and carefully slid out from her grasp, her face scrunching as she began to reach for him in her sleep. He slid his pillow close to her and smiled when she pulled it tight to her body and nuzzled her face into it. After relieving himself and brushing his teeth he tiptoed through the room, making sure to avoid the spots in the floor he knew squeaked and creaked, stepping through the bedroom door and grabbing his favorite pair of sweatpants and his cell phone on the way out.

 

“Alright, let’s see here.” he mumbled to himself as he hooked his phone up to the charger and grabbed his coffee tin and filters off the top of the fridge. As he sat on the counter waiting for the coffee to brew and reading the paper he had quickly retrieved from the front porch his phone finally came to life and began to buzz from missed text messages and a voicemail. He set the paper down and picked up the phone, punching in his password and going to the voicemail.

 

“ _Boss, it’s Bloodhound. I’ve located Black Hat. Call me when you’re ready to head out.”_ He glanced back down the hall towards the bedroom door, listening for any noise before making the call. 

 

“ _Boss.”_

 

“How soon?” he asked, hopping off the counter and grabbing two coffee mugs out of the cabinet that had been behind him.

 

“ _Within the next hour._ ” 

 

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you at the Wyrm.” With that he ended the call and opened his fridge, fishing out eggs and bacon before grabbing a half used pack of hash browns out of the freezer and set to work making himself and Betty breakfast. 

 

She emerged from the bedroom roughly ten minutes later rubbing sleep from her eyes in just her sweater and a pair of underwear, her hair still tousled and messy from the previous night. He plated their food and poured her a coffee for which she thanked him with a groggy voice and poured what seemed to be half a container of sugar into it, taking her plate and joining him at his little dining table. 

 

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked her as she tucked her legs up in the chair to sit cross-legged, Betty glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes with a grin on her face before taking a sip of her coffee. 

 

“Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” she answered as grabbed a piece of bacon, her eyes rolling back in her head as she savored the flavor, “I cannot begin to tell you how spoiled I feel just from this. I wasn’t allowed to have bacon back in New York.” 

 

“What the fuck?” Jughead asked as he nearly dropped his own piece, his eyebrows pulled up towards his hairline with his mouth open, “Why?” 

 

“Because Michael didn’t want me getting fat and making him look bad. No bacon, burgers, milkshakes, fries, steak, most breads, basically anything delicious and made life worth living.” 

 

“What did you eat? Grass?” he asked and she laughed as she took another bite, washing it down with her coffee. 

 

“Some days it felt like that. Mostly salads, fruits, nuts, water, some fish, and I got a glass of wine at dinner.” Jughead scrunched up his nose and tossed an extra piece of bacon on to her plate, smiling as she laughed and thanked him and picked it up to eat. 

 

“I’m gonna make you a steak dinner soon and really spoil you.” he said with a mouthful of egg, pointing his fork at her as he spoke and seeing the blush creep across her face. 

 

“I think that would be amazing.” she answered. They finished their breakfast with quiet conversation, Jughead watching Betty as she talked about the photo shoot she had lined up with Veronica that afternoon. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her talk, seeing how happy and relaxed she was and couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since she had a meal where she wasn’t putting on a show for the public. When they finished she offered to do the dishes as a thank you to him for making breakfast, Jughead excusing himself to the bedroom so he could dress for the day. As he was disappearing into the room he couldn’t help but sneak a peek of the panty clad woman standing in his kitchen, her hair all a mess and singing to herself as she cleaned up. And he couldn’t help how natural it felt to see her in his house like this. There was no awkward morning after, no awkward breakfast or awkward conversation. And definitely no walk of shame out the door as they stepped outside into the cool morning air. 

 

“Cold?” he asked as he was securing his helmet on her head, Betty nodding as she looked down at her sweater and denim shorts. 

 

“I didn’t think about pants last night. I just thought about getting to you.” she answered and he slid his leather Serpent jacket off. She thanked him as she put it on, giggling as it seemed to swallow her small frame. 

 

“Luckily the Wyrm isn’t to far away from here and we can get you back to your car in no time.” he said as he swung his leg over the motorcycle and twisted his body to help her. Her arms slid around his waist as the engine roared to life and a smile stretched across her face as the bike took off. When they arrived at the Wyrm Toni was standing outside with an almost empty fishbowl, passing keys out to almost entirely sobered up Serpents who were thanking her and retrieving their motorcycles and taking off to perform their daily tasks. A small group was hanging back, standing by the front door smoking and shooting the shit. He stopped next to her car and waited as she cranked it and turned the heat on to knock off the chill, Betty nearly skipping back to him and handing him his helmet back. 

 

“Jughead?” she asked softly as he kicked the kickstand out and got off the bike. He set the helmet on the seat and wrapped her up in his arms as her hands flattened against his chest, “Thank you for last night.” 

 

“Anytime.” he answered with a smirk and a wink, Betty laughing and moving to her toes as his head came down. 

 

“Yeah!” Sweet Pea called from the group and Fangs whistled as their lips met, Betty giggling into the kiss and Jughead flicking them off for the second time in under twelve hours. She slid his jacket off and handed back to him and with a wave goodbye she was in her car and backing out of her parking space. 

 

“Just so you know, boss man, you might want to move your bed a few inches away from the wall next time she stays over.” Sweet Pea teased, Jughead laughing as he socked him in the arm and pulled his cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, “We could hear it across the trailer park.” 

 

“Well, our trailers aren’t known for their sound proof walls.” Jughead said as he lit his cigarette and welcomed the smoky burn in his throat and lungs first thing in the morning, “You guys ready?”

 

“Yeah, we’ll head out as soon as Bloodhound gets here and gives us the address.” 

* * *

 

“Betty Cooper! O. M. G!” Veronica exclaimed as she hugged her best friend, jumping up and down excitedly as Betty showed her her ringless finger, “I’m sorry about the ending of your relationship but I’m not sorry you’re away from that control freak!” 

 

“V, for the first time in my life I feel like I can breathe, I feel free.” Veronica smiled as they linked arms and walked towards Sweetwater Treats, “I don’t have someone breathing down my neck, telling me what I can and can’t eat, do, or wear. I don’t have someone basically writing out what I’m allowed to say in public or during important business dinners. And if I step out of line I won’t get hi...yelled at.” she corrected quickly, Veronica snapping her attention to her with a look of concern etched on her face. 

 

“B?” 

 

“Jughead made me breakfast but I could kill for a maple sticky bun.” Betty continued on, avoiding Veronica’s unspoken concern as they neared the busy bakery. 

 

“Wait, Jughead made you breakfast?” Betty looked over at Veronica, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she smiled slowly at the raven haired vixen, “Betty, did you do what I think you did?” She nodded and Veronica’s eyes lit up, stopping and placing her hands on her arm as a blush took over Betty’s face. 

 

“Yeah, I went to see him at the Whyte Wyrm last night to tell him what happened and one thing led to another.” 

 

“Oh my God, Betty, please you have to give me all of the juicy deets after we get our pastries and coffee. Like, was it good? Was he good? Is he...you know?” she asked, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head down. Betty laughed and linked her arm back through Veronica’s as she pulled them near the line. They sat down in a quiet corner away from the rest of the crowd, Veronica and Betty leaning in close to each other as Betty gave her an almost play by play of her night with Jughead. 

 

“Oh my God, swoon! I’m so glad you guys finally hooked up. I told you Bughead was going to be endgame.” Veronica said as she sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, sipping on her coffee and cutting off a piece of her sticky bun. She looked up and saw Betty staring into her coffee with a sad smile on her face. 

 

“B? What’s wrong?” she asked softly as she reached over and placed her hand over her friends. Betty glanced up. She was chewing on her lip again but this time in worry instead of happiness. 

 

“Did I make a mistake, V?” she asked quietly and Veronica cocked her head to the side.

 

“A mistake? You mean breaking up with Michael?”

 

“Oh God no. I’m talking about Jughead.” 

 

“What do you mean, B? What’s going on?” 

 

“I ended an eight year relationship yesterday and was already in someone else’s bed, which is not who I am at all but I just felt so free and so happy. But what if I made a mistake? I mean, even though the last few years with Michael were hell, there were still good years and I loved him so much. There were still happy memories and really good times with him. Maybe I’m an idiot for thinking this way but I feel like I rushed quickly into Jug’s arms and bed and ultimately I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship yet. I feel like I just lead Jug on big time.” 

 

Veronica stood and moved her chair over next to the distraught blonde who was biting back tears, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her. 

 

“Betty, you need to talk to Jughead. It’s okay not to be ready for a relationship yet. You’re right, you just got out of a long term relationship and an engagement on top of that. You’re allowed to take all the time you need and to grieve what could have been. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready and not you or anyone else can force yourself to be ready for one.” 

 

“Do you think Jughead will understand?” she whimpered softly as she kept her hair down, trying to hide her face from the other patrons in the store. 

 

“Jughead is one of the most understanding people I know. Just talk to him, B.” 

 

“Thanks, V.” she murmured and laid her head over on her friend’s shoulder, Veronica smiling and resting her head against Betty’s.

 

“Girl, you have got to tell me your shampoo because that smells amazing.” With that they both started laughing and dug back into their coffees and pastries. 

* * *

 

The motorcycles slowed to a halt in front of an old abandoned lumber mill, Jughead looking over at Fangs who pulled out the piece of paper Bloodhound had given him and double checked the location. 

 

“This is it. Old Sweetwater Sawmill.” he reassured him and they dismounted their motorcycles and left their helmets hanging off of the handlebars. Jughead, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni made their way through the overgrown weeds and decayed sidewalk up to the sawmill, splitting up to find an entrance that wasn’t padlocked or boarded up. 

 

“Yo, Jug! Over here!” Sweet Pea called out as he pointed to a window, the glass broken out and the frame completely cleaned from any shards. 

 

“Good job, man.” he said and grabbed his flashlight out of his belt where he had it tucked, flipping it on as he climbed up onto an old dumpster and peeked in through the window. When it looked like the coast was clear he stepped in, the rest of his group following and making their way into the middle of the old building. 

 

“Black Hat! I know you’re in here!” he shouted as they all shined their flashlights around, their switchblades firmly grasped in the other hand as they moved as a solid unit across the dirty floor, “Black Hat! Don’t make me find you!” 

 

“What the hell do you want?” a voice asked from an open doorway, the group nearly jumping out of their skins as they whirled around and all shined their lights in the direction of the voice, “Jesus Christ turn off the spotlights.” 

 

“You Black Hat?” Jughead asked as the others turned off their lights and he lowered his from the guy’s face. 

 

“Who’s asking?” 

 

“Southside Serpents.” 

 

“Ah hell, you guys again? What does FP want this time?” he groaned and Jughead couldn’t help the smirk on his face. 

 

“FP doesn’t run the Serpents anymore. I do. Now I’ll ask you again before this gets more complicated and messy than it needs to. Are you Black Hat?” 

 

“Keep your switchblades under control. I’m him. Follow me.” he said as he shoved his hands in his old gray hoodie and turned to walk away from the room. 

 

“Where the hell do you think you’re taking us?” Sweet Pea demanded and the guy turned back around and rolled his eyes. 

 

“You’re here because you need my help, right? Let’s go to my office and discuss business.” After glancing at one another they all nodded in agreement and moved to the doorway to follow the guy. He took them down a long hallway, stopping at the last door and stepping though the doorway and motioning for them to follow. When they stepped in they stopped and looked around. Computers lined two of the walls, a third wall housing an old refrigerator and a rickety card table that had a microwave on top and a stash of boxed and canned foods underneath. The fourth wall had two air mattresses pushed up against it, the covers thrown all over the place and charger cables strewn across them. 

 

“So who was making the noise?” A voice asked from one of the computer walls, a high backed black office chair turning around to show a petite blue haired girl, a phone in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, “Who the hell are you guys?” 

 

“Customers. Guys, this is Proxy.” Black Hat said and closed the door behind the group of Serpents and moving to his seat at the other wall of computers, “Now, what can we do for you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'd like to apologize if you guys ever come across typos or any other errors. I have two kids and usually only get to write at night and by then I'm exhausted and I don't have a Beta so I do my best to catch everything when I read back through it. 
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!


End file.
